D.D. 05/13/05

Governor Phil Bredesen's Pre-K education package has cleared both houses and become law in Tennessee with only two State Senators voicing objection- State Senator Mae Beavers and Tim Burchett, who said, "I’m very concerned about the funding mechanisms in the future and where the money is going to come from...I’m afraid the courts could step in and say we are going to have to offer pre-K across the state, and then it would be a budget buster. It could become another TennCare." The State Supreme Court previously ruled that teacher salaries must be equalized across the state, a previous fiscal problem for State government.

In Hamilton County, School Superintendent Jesse Register said he’s not sure how much money local school systems will be required to pay when taking part in the expanded state pre-kindergarten program. "That is the only concern we have, because we don’t have additional funds budgeted to match the state funds in addition to what we have now," Dr. Register said. According to the Leaf Chronicle, the state will only pay 75% of program costs, with local governments having to cover the additional 25%. In Montgomery County, that translates to $96,000 - in an already tight budget. On the bright side for politicans, tax increases are usually easier to pass when education is the stated motive, but that's bad news for the taxpayer.