Despite the fact that pro-Voucher interest groups like Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, Tennesseans for Student Success (propped up by out of state money despite the name), poured millions of dollars into the Blackburn campaign and state legislative races during the Republican Primary, the issue is now seldom mentioned. It really wasn’t a major topic during the primary races, as the interest groups seeking to expand their power base and expand the voucher scheme never actually focused attention on the issue that motivated them. In fact, the massive number of mail and media attack ads used to promote their candidates or disparage the opponents never even mentioned vouchers.
Marsha Blackburn, who benefited greatly from the Pro-voucher funding during her primary, has made it clear that she wants to expand the voucher plan to include every student in Tennessee wishing to move from public schools to private school schools. That “universal voucher” plan is already in place in Arizona and has pushed that state to the brink of bankruptcy as it faces an over $1 billion budget short fall thanks to the cost of the plan far exceeding expectations. The Arizona expansion, enacted in 2022, represents roughly 10% to 12% of the state’s entire K-12 education budget while serving fewer than 10% of total students. That’s the prescription for Tennessee, but virtually nobody is talking about it.
In Arizona, Public schools lose an estimated $300,000 per school on average, even though they continue to educate 92% of Arizona’s student population. Driven by a combination of voucher expansion, charter school growth, and demographic shifts, public school districts are facing extreme financial strain. Over the past two school years, more than 30 public district campuses across Arizona have closed or consolidated due to declining enrollment and fixed overhead costs. Is this the future that Tennesseans desire to replicate?
About 80% of the taxpayer voucher funds have gone to pay tuition for kids who were already enrolled in private schools. So it wasn’t really a matter of “choice” since choosing private over public schools was a choice already made.
The fact that the voucher “scholarships” exceed per-student public school funding is also widely ignored.
The overwhelming number of counties across Tennessee don’t even have private schools available if parents wanted to grab the $7,295 voucher money, that increases to $7,530 this year. Why did so many rural Republican legislators vote for a system that doesn’t benefit their actual constituents? Because of the legitimate fear of the millions in attack ads they have seen targeting their colleagues who don’t go along with the plan!
Serious pain lies ahead for Tennessee taxpayers, school systems, and students thanks to the voucher scheme and seemingly unstoppable plans to expand it. There’s been no reliable evidence that it is improving academic achievement for Tennessee students.
And the “safe harbor” promises to public school systems that they would not see their budgets decline as students move to private schools expires soon, which will lead to massive public school budget shortfalls and layoffs of teachers.
All of which raises a serious question: why isn’t the voucher scheme a primary topic of debate during this campaign season? Tennessee’s voucher program is already operating, expanding, and receiving substantial public funding. But the campaign debate has yet to grapple with the questions voters need answered: What will the program cost? How far will it reach, especially in rural communities? How will it affect public-school finances? And what evidence will show whether it improves student outcomes? These issues remain largely absent from the campaign trail, even as voucher costs rise and questions of access, accountability, and academic results grow more urgent. Surely, it is a topic worthy of substantive discussion, isn’t it?
Steve Gill is editor and Publisher of TriStar Daily.
