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Lamenting Lizzette
Tennessee’s Education Commissioner creates controversy
The face of this cat likely resembles the Tennessee taxpayer discovering that more than a quarter of a million dollars worth of state money gets paid to a top-level official who lacks the basic qualifications for the job and also repeatedly fails at key tasks.
Yes, I’m talking about Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds.
Her past experience includes working as a lobbyist for an outfit focused on privatizing America’s public schools.
She’s never been a teacher nor does she hold a teaching credential. This despite state law requiring the Commissioner to be qualified to teach and lead at highest-level institution over which she has authority.
When the discrepancy between her qualifications and state law was pointed out, she lied on a state form in order to receive free tuition as she took classes to earn the credential she should have had on day one.
She earns $255,000 a year.
Reynolds is not the first state official to be questionably qualified to hold an appointed role. However, in many cases where a lesser qualified person earns such a post due to politics, that individual at least demonstrates some competence — at a minimum, they can advance the political agenda of the appointing authority.
Not so with Reynolds.
Her two major goals were to work on Tennessee’s school funding challenges and expand Gov. Lee’s school voucher initiative.
She failed at both.
The state remains among worst funded education systems in the nation (and the South) and many surrounding states (including Alabama and Kentucky) pay their teachers more than Tennessee manages to muster.
In terms of vouchers (which are definitely a bad idea), Reynolds failed to secure passage of Lee’s top legislative priority for 2024 — universal vouchers.
