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Gov. Invoice Lee mentioned Hurricane Helene’s large destruction in northeast Tennessee, plus a rising backlog of public infrastructure wants statewide, gained’t stop his administration from pursuing a common personal college voucher program throughout his ultimate two years in workplace.
He additionally advised that there’s no have to faucet into the $144 million put aside for his Schooling Freedom Scholarship Act to beef up the state’s catastrophe response. That cash presently shouldn’t be getting used, as a result of his proposal stalled within the legislature this 12 months.
“We don’t have to decide on one or the opposite,” Lee mentioned Thursday throughout a media briefing concerning the state’s emergency response and restoration work.
Ongoing and potential new initiatives like statewide vouchers stay doable, he mentioned, due to robust fiscal administration by the state within the final 20 years.
“We have now sources. We have now an economic system. We have now the power to spend money on … infrastructure and schooling each,” Lee added.
The governor sought to quell solutions from some lawmakers that state leaders rethink Tennessee’s price range priorities, not solely to assist northeast Tennessee get better from probably $1 billion-plus in injury to its public infrastructure, but in addition to handle a rising backlog of a minimum of $68 billion wanted statewide to enhance roads, bridges, water programs, colleges, firehouses, and extra, in line with the state’s newest evaluation.
One in every of his administration’s prime priorities is to offer public funding to any household throughout Tennessee who needs to ship their youngsters to non-public college. This summer time, Lee mentioned his workplace was crafting a brand new invoice after his 2024 proposal stumbled in legislative committees this spring resulting from disagreements amongst Republicans.
Final week, Rep. Mark White, a Memphis Republican and voucher supporter who chairs a Home schooling committee, mentioned the state’s new first precedence must be “caring for our neighbors in East Tennessee” and serving to them get better from the lethal storm.
“Can we do common vouchers, too? I don’t know,” White continued. “However East Tennessee has acquired to be our prime focus.”
On Thursday, Lee mentioned his administration is already prioritizing restoration and rebuilding for the area.
He introduced a $100 million fund to assist 13 hurricane-ravaged counties take away particles and restore water and wastewater programs instantly. These counties ultimately can search reimbursements from the federal authorities to repay the fund, however want no-interest loans up entrance, Lee mentioned.
Colleges have been closed because the storm flooded the agricultural, mountainous area in late September, washing out roads and bridges, damaging consuming water and wastewater programs, and battering college campuses.
Along with overseeing repairs, college officers have been revamping bus routes for the return of scholars, a lot of whom already had fall breaks deliberate for October. Every day bus commutes seemingly will lengthen to greater than an hour for a lot of youngsters. At a Carter County highschool that’s anticipated to be declared a complete loss, college students will likely be relocated to a former college constructing that homes district workplaces.
In the meantime, officers with the state schooling division mentioned they’re working with native college leaders to offer flexibility and help to highschool programs affected by Helene.
Which will contain granting waivers so colleges can present extra instruction remotely than usually allowed, or to cut back the required variety of educational days. The state additionally will work with districts as wanted concerning fall highschool and ACT testing, a spokesperson mentioned.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.
