NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After months of research and debate on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, House and Senate leaders appear to be divided when it comes to the concept of rejecting federal education funding in the state. That even includes the final report.
Typically joint working groups produce a joint final report, but not on this issue. In a report released this week by the Senate, the space for where the House names should go were left blank.
Chris talks about the report and how the legislature is handling it in the player above.
"We submitted our changes on things that we’d like to include and they said no," said Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton. "If they’re not willing to include what we wanted to, although we said we agreed with what they were wanting to say for the most part, then it became where we need to file our own report unfortunately."
Previous reporting this week: Federal rules would still apply to Tennessee schools even with funding rejected
According to a source in the Senate, Senators waited on the House since November to deliver their changes to the final report but didn't engage in discussions until Monday with what they hoped to change.
In the Senate report, filed independently, leaders determined federal money made up roughly 10% of the state's education budget, and while state revenues are available to cover that cost, it would come at the expense of other potential state investments. Ultimately, they wrote "there were more questions than definitive answers."
Last week, NewsChannel 5 asked Lt. Gov. Randy McNally if he still supported rejecting federal education funding.
"Probably not," he replied.
McNally said he couldn't justify the expense given current economic conditions.
"It’ll be a very tight budget, I feel," said McNally.
But Speaker Sexton says the House will release their own report and plan to press on.
"So what I think you’ll see on the House side is a continued looking into it through government operations, through our Education Instruction Committee and continuing to look at those things that we’re trying to uncover on what the federal government is doing," Sexton said.
Democrats still contend the whole idea is ridiculous.
"This is a fiscally irresponsible decision that will have discriminatory impacts and detrimental impacts across the state of Tennessee," said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, and House Democratic Caucus Chair. "There’s not one student in the state of Tennessee who would benefit from such fiscal irresponsibility, and they still to this day haven’t specified what strings there are that are attached that they have an objection to."
With the Senate opposing any outright rejections of federal dollars, the House may have to resort to just making small adjustments or requests when it comes to federal requirements for federal education dollars. Regardless, what began as a joint effort appears to be ending as a disjointed affair.
So far, the House hasn't released its own version of the final report. Once they do, NewsChannel 5 will share it with you.
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