NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Starting July 1st, there will be a new woman in charge of education in Tennessee. Her name is Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds.
Reynolds spent a combined 12 years serving in the U.S. Department of Education and the Texas Education Agency before taking her most recent job — working for a school choice advocacy group called Excel in Ed. It was formed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and is based in the Sunshine State.
"I’ve traded texts with her, so I mean we’ve communicated several times," J.C. Bowman, president of Professional Educators of Tennessee said.
Bowman tells NewsChannel 5 he has major concerns about Reynold's appointment.
"Number one, she’s not been involved in public education," Bowman said.
He argues there's a big difference between setting policy and teaching in a classroom.
"I mean clearly you don’t understand what teachers are going through. You don’t understand the challenges that they face," Bowman said.
He's also concerned that she's never lived in Tennessee before.
"There’s going to be a lot of people who don’t support her, so she’s going to have to build friends within Tennessee. We’re certainly willing to give her a chance, we want to meet with her and talk with her," he said. "But on the other hand of that -- what I’ve heard from other superintendents and other folks, their patience is very very thin."
Bowman says the patience is thin because Reynold's predecessor, Penny Schwinn, also wasn't from Tennessee and didn't take time to engage enough with Tennessee teachers.
"When you’re not listening to the people who are actually here doing the work, you’re going to lose an audience very quickly," he said.
Bowman thinks her choice sends a very clear message from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee about expanding educational savings accounts — that allows public school students to enroll in private schools, and their educational funding follows them.
"As he leaves, he would like to see it in all 95 counties. Now will that happen? I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s an appetite at the General Assembly to see full-blown school choice and see vouchers in every county," Bowman explained.
Whatever Reynold's background may be, Bowman says she has to face a clear focus.
"There’s almost a million students enrolled in public schools. That has to be our focus, and that’s where, if you want to improve education in Tennessee, you have to work where a bulk of the students are going to be located," he said.
Unlike some other states and the federal government, Gov. Lee does not have to have Commissioner Reynolds confirmed by the legislature. Under state law, his appointment is final.
