Tennesseans Pay Higher Local Taxes While State Sits on $3 Billion Surplus

Gov. Lee Lives Up to Campaign “Promise” to Raise Taxes, Privatize Schools

The Tennessee Public Education Coalition and Pastors for Tennessee’s Children have an OpEd out explaining how Gov. Bill Lee’s lack of action on school funding means a tax increase for Tennessee families.

In the piece, the two groups repeat a familiar refrain: Tennessee schools are underfunded by $1.7 billion. Then, they note what that means for Tennessee families and communities:

a Tennessee family of four, on average, pays over $1,000 a year in additional local taxes to offset the state’s ongoing underfunding of K-12 education

Even with those local funds, Tennessee spends $4,300 less per student than the national average.

Bill Lee wants to Raise Your Taxes and Silence Your School Board

Lee’s reliance on local property tax revenue to fund schools is not surprising given his 2018 campaign based on privatizing public education. What should have county commissions and school boards screaming, though, is that our state is sitting on a giant surplus.