NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — While Gov. Lee has said he wants to give a second look at a formula that determines how the state's education money is split up, a poll of Nashville voters conducted by the Nashville Public Education Foundation is showing growing dissatisfaction with Nashville schools.
The poll shows a majority of Nashville voters don't think the city prioritizes children or opportunities for youth.
As Tennessee continues statewide listening sessions to hear from parents about how to fund the state's schools, the foundation says its poll shows two-thirds of Nashville voters think education funding is too low, and even more say Nashville's teachers are underpaid.
The foundation says the pandemic highlighted ways that the public education system is not working for some students, and they say when it comes to any new funding formula, urban school districts like Nashville have different funding needs than rural districts.
"We believe the cost of educating children is not accurately reflected in the way the formula works, we hope that would be corrected going forward, and that the state would allocate more funding to education overall," said Jennifer Hill with the Nashville Public Education Foundation.
Metro Schools said Monday the district has been implementing programs this year to speed up student progress and boost public support for Metro Schools, like its volunteer tutoring program.
The district says it is still looking for volunteers from the community.
