NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has a new plan to send students to Tennessee trade schools for free. It's a concept most lawmakers appear to support, but how the plan is funded is causing concern.
"Too many straws"
"There is cautious concern about the lottery and its financial health moving forward and I think you need to be prepared to have a really in-depth conversation about the utilization of lottery dollars," said Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixon, directing the comment to Tennessee's Commissioner of Finance and Administration Jim Bryson during a budget hearing Tuesday.
The Governor's proposal calls on taking $12 million each year out of the Tennessee Lottery fund to pay for these scholarships to attend Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.
"There are a lot of straws that are in the cup of the lottery," warned Sen. Watson, who also serves as the Senate Finance Chairman.
Those straws include what the fund was created for in the first place — Hope Lottery Scholarships for in-state, four-year university students.
Additionally, after the special session to pass school vouchers, a chunk of the lottery funds from sports gambling will now go toward building and repairing public schools.
And then there's this: according to the State Funding Board, lottery sales overall have declined and that may not change anytime soon.
"If we commit that money to TCATs, then how will we ever be able to increase the amount of the lottery scholarship to future students and if we’re unable to do that, then the purchasing power of that scholarship gets less and less and less as inflation eats and erodes it," said Watson.
Democrats in the House and Senate echoed Sen. Watson's concerns Thursday during their news conference. "You’re going to have a declining pool of resources for the Hope Scholarship pitted against vocational education, and that is not good for anyone," said Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville.
It'll all even out
However, Republican leaders in the Tennessee House don't seem to be overly concerned.
"Look, I think those scholarships have been part of the system for a long time," said House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth suggested less Tennessee students may choose to go the four year university route.
"You may see fewer students going into a four-year school. That’s perfectly fine," said Lamberth, R-Portland. "So I actually think it’s going to even out just fine."
"There’s other options, too," added Sexton. "In the future that we could go down to help increase the funding for the Hope Lottery and scholarship and that sort of stuff."
But Democrats worry it may squash hope for future Tennessee college students.
"Their options are cut the value of the Hope Scholarship, or start cutting the bookend grants, like the Hero’s Grants and others," said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville.
Rename and re-shuffle
There are already scholarships for Tennessee students to attend TCAT programs in the state, named after prominent Democrats John Wilder, who served for decades as Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant Governor, and Jimmy Naifeh, a longtime Speaker of the House.
However, the Wilder-Naifeh Grants currently only cover a student's tuition. Gov. Lee's newly branded Tennessee Works Scholarships aim to cover tuition, expenses, textbooks and tools needed to get certifications.
This issue is expected to get plenty of debate over the next few weeks.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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-Rebecca Schleicher
