Tennessee plans 8 town halls on education funding formula

Friday, October 22, 2021, Vol. 45, No. 43

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee will hold eight town hall hearings as officials review the state's K-12 education funding formula.

The Department of Education says the events will be Oct. 27 at Merrol Hyde Magnet School in Hendersonville; Oct. 28 at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis; Nov. 1 at UT-Southern in Pulaski; Nov. 2 at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; Nov. 3 at Niswonger Performance Arts Center in Greeneville; Nov. 4 at The Howard School in Chattanooga; Nov. 10 at Jackson County Middle School in Gainesboro; and Nov. 22 at Gibson County High School in Dyer.

Livestreams will be available.

With no firm timeline yet, officials say they want to present suggestions to lawmakers by next year.

The nearly three-decade-old Basic Education Program uses 45 components to determine funding for each school for expenses including teacher salaries.

It's been criticized as complicated and outdated.

Democrats and the Tennessee Education Association argue reforms should increase school funding.