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Guest column: What do ‘vouchers’ mean to Tennessee taxpayers?

Posted at 2:32 pm March 8, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns Leave a Comment

By Tammy Grissom

A school voucher is a publicly funded credit or certificate whereby a student may be enrolled in a private school and apply the credit to tuition.

So, why should Tennessee taxpayers care?

  1. Vouchers use your money to help pay for a student to go to a private school that answers to private administrators and not you, the taxpayer. Public schools must answer to the people and are held accountable for the use of local, state, and federal educational tax money.
  2. Article XI, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution specifically states, “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance, support, and eligibility standards of a system of free public schools.” Nowhere in our Constitution is the General Assembly directed to take taxpayer money and use it for a voucher system so parents can use public money to send their children to private schools.
  3. Private schools are not public institutions, and without proper oversight, the “qualifications and standards” for students may fall short of expectations and undermine the fundamental idea of equality in education.  Vouchers require the public to supplement these standards even if they are contrary to state and federal education law.
  4. Vouchers force the public to support two drastically different educational systems, one over which the public has no oversight.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: boards of education, education, educational system, General Assembly, parental choice, private school, public education, public money, public school system, public schools, school voucher, Tammy Grissom, taxpayer money, Tennessee, Tennessee Constitution, Tennessee School Boards Association, TSBA, tuition, voucher system, vouchers

Food Lion foundation donates $2,000 to ADFAC

Posted at 12:30 am June 30, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Food Lion Charitable Foundation has donated $2,000 to Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, or ADFAC, a press release said.

The donation comes just in time to help feed local residents this summer, the press release said. ADFAC will use the gift to provide vouchers for fresh food for local families experiencing economic hardship.

“We are thrilled to receive this contribution,” said Liz Herbes, director of ADFAC’s Social Services program. “It will provide much-needed relief from hunger for dozens of our less fortunate neighbors.”

ADFAC, an independent nonprofit agency established in 1987, exists to serve the basic needs of primarily low-income residents in Anderson and surrounding Appalachian counties. ADFAC’s goal is to help families become stable and self-sufficient through a variety of direct assistance services provided by our Social Services and Affordable Housing programs. ADFAC answers more than 6,000 requests for assistance each year. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Community, Front Page News, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge Tagged With: ADFAC, Aid to Distress Families of Appalachian Counties, economic hardship, Food Lion, Food Lion Charitable Foundation, Food Lion Feeds, fresh food, Liz Herbes, meals, vouchers

Public education reforms to be discussed at League meeting Tuesday

Posted at 10:01 am May 6, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jerry Winters, retired chief lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association, will discuss the challenges facing public schools, with an emphasis on corporate “reforms,” during “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday, a press release said.

Winters will be the featured speaker at the meeting, which starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. His presentation is titled “Surviving the Attacks on Public Education.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Education, K-12, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: charter schools, education reforms, Jerry Winters, League of Women Voters, lobbyist, Lunch with the League, public education, Tennessee Education Association, virtual schools, vouchers

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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