Gov. Bill Lee, who entered his second term in Tuesday’s election, reassured parents and teachers in Tennessee that his election promise to “make the most of the next four years” when it comes to education. is the cause. However, he offered little specifics as to what that meant.

The Associated Press reported that the election results showed the Republican governor easily defeated Dr. Jason Martin, a Nashville doctor and Democratic candidate, but he declined to argue. has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2006.

Lee’s landslide victory will force the governor to mandate whatever he proposes by 2026 or endorse ambitions that could lead him to a national office.

The governor was to deliver his victory speech late Tuesday evening.

Lee lacks details about his second term agenda on education. Instead, he is focusing on parental rights, rewriting his 30-year education funding formula in Tennessee, expanding middle and high school access to career and technical training, phonics emphasized staying on course with his first semester achievements, such as laying the foundation for teaching reading comprehension. .

Lee’s final 30-second campaign ad — part of October’s $3.2 million campaign spending blitz — also promoted safer classrooms and concluded with the promise: ”

Campaign spokeswoman Layne Arnold said the ad showed Lee’s “will to keep education a top priority.”

Asked specifically about his educational priorities for his second term on the eve of Election Day, Mr. Lee said he wanted to invest more money in teacher salaries and expand his educational options further through charter schools and private school vouchers. said again. He also wants to continue to prioritize vocational, technical and agricultural education.

“All these things we have been doing for the last four years, but now we have to make sure they are growing, they are being invested in, they are making significant improvements in all areas.” the governor told reporters. Final campaign stop in Franklin, south of Nashville.

Marta W. Aldrich / Chokebeat

But Democrats are still sober that Lee pushed the private school voucher law with a controversial razor-thin vote in his first year in office, turning the governor’s vague TV promises on education into an ominous threat. I interpret it as

They expect Lee and another Republican overwhelming majority to try to expand education savings account programs to move more taxpayer money from public to private schools. The program is currently limited to Memphis and Nashville.

Democrats also hope to see more proposals to censor books and instruction in public schools.

In 2021, Tennessee will be one of the first states to enact a law limiting discussion in K-12 classrooms about slavery, racism and the legacy of white privilege, signed by Lee.

This year Lee passed a law requiring a review of school and classroom library collections. He authorizes state textbook boards to ban questionable materials statewide if designated members deem them “inappropriate” for a student’s age and maturity. I signed the eye bill.

Regarding the Jan. 6 attacks on the US Capitol, Lee said students should be taught that the deadly 2021 riots were a day of “lawlessness” by individual attackers. He made no mention of a broader conspiracy, still under federal investigation, to sabotage the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

“Republicans are beginning to systematically eradicate textbook history and ban teachings related to race, gender identity, and sexuality,” said Nashville Democrat and party caucus chairman. Rep. Vincent Dixie, who is serving on the “Four more years under this leadership will only lead to finer control over school curricula and tougher fines and punishments for already overworked and underpaid educators.”

Lee won big in spite of the big setbacks

Lee, a businessman and farmer from wealthy Williamson County near Nashville, survived a bruised primary four years ago and was the first to bid for public office to become Tennessee’s 50th governor. surprised both parties when he won the

Campaigning for more educational options for families and job training options for students, he made education a top priority and used the power of the state’s Republican Party to pass much of his agenda. I was.

But Lee received a humiliating blow this year after he called on the president of Michigan’s conservative Hillsdale College to bring up to 100 charter schools to Tennessee, but a committee Lee appointed The Hillsdale charter group withdrew the first three applications after determining the proposals were not suitable. until you smell it.

Lee also saw Hillsdale president Larry Earn mocking teachers, their training programs, and diversity officers in June, prompting him to quietly attend a private reception in June. After showing that he was sitting, he was stabbed with public outrage and was criticized by many members of his own political party. The governor refused to deny Earn’s statements or to cut ties with Hillsdale. accused of hurting.

At the time, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called Earn’s comments “short-thinking, unfortunate, and untrue.” This week, the top Republican leader in Congress said Lee’s accomplishments offset the governor’s failure to respond to Earn’s comments.

“I think voters are looking at his whole record,” said McNally, who is from Oak Ridge. “He was treated the worst of any governor I can remember, including COVID, floods, tornadoes, and protests. I think he handled it very well.”

Campaign courtesy of Dr. Jason Martin

But critical care doctor Martin said it was his no-interference approach to the coronavirus pandemic that turned the governor against Lee. The Democratic candidate also criticized Lee-backed school vouchers, charters, and censorship policies that give states ultimate control over these decisions at the expense of locally elected officials. .

Other critics say Lee’s campaign ad is hypocritical in claiming that children, family, and mothers are his “first priorities.”

The governor also helped grow the state’s rainy day fund to record levels, while the Department of Child Services, the state agency responsible for caring for abused, neglected, and foster children, has increased its staffing. There is a severe shortage of custodial homes and beds for detained children.

Next Step: Form Another Term

Fresh off an Election Day victory, Lee will begin budget hearings on Wednesday to prepare for the 2023-24 state appropriations proposal. The bill will be before the Tennessee legislature a few weeks after lawmakers convene on January 10.

Budget talks on K-12 education with Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn are listed second on the four-day schedule.

Months before his re-election, Lee pledged to invest an additional $1 billion in students and schools in the next fiscal year. At this time, federal pandemic relief funds will run out and a new state funding scheme will begin.

But while Mr. Lee was a likely candidate for a second term, Mr. Schwinn’s future was less certain.

Former Texas academic chief says strategies to improve literacy and help students recover from learning losses due to pandemic, expanding its own teacher training programs, and new ways to allow money to follow students Led the governor’s major initiatives, including the implementation of the Education Funding Scheme. , and secure more money for high-need students.

However, the state education department’s turnover rate is high under Schwinn’s leadership. And early on, even though she guided Tennessee through a pandemic considered the greatest educational cataclysm in modern history, she managed to deploy the initiative, without sufficient legislative input, review, or approval. He irritated legislators by cutting corners in the administration.

Tennessee Department of Education

Asked last month if she intended to continue in the role for a second term, Schwinn said she and Lee “had such a conversation.”

“I’m going to be here and I’m going full speed ahead,” she told Chalkbeat.

She cited the state’s strategic plans for literacy, student acceleration, innovative school models, unique teacher training programs, and new state funding methods.

“We’re really proud of these big bills that have been passed and the interventions and initiatives,” she said. “Now we have to double down and keep our course.”

Marta W. Aldrich is Senior Correspondent for the Capitol in Chalkbeat Tennessee. To contact her, please contact maldrich@chalkbeat.org.