Gov. Bill Lee with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Nashville on Nov. 28, 2023, for Lee’s announcement he will push to provide private school vouchers statewide. (Photo: John Partipilo)
Facing a $610 million budget shortfall and potential business tax cut, lawmakers are leery of enacting Gov. Bill Lee’s entire private-school voucher proposal.
House Education Administration Committee Chairman Mark White told the Tennessee Lookout the expense of Lee’s plan is a “big concern.” Vouchers could be provided for up to 20,000 students in the program’s first year, based on the state funding it takes for students to attend public schools, about $6,000 to $7,000, putting the total cost at $120 million to $140 million.
“If we’re going to get something passed, it’s probably going to have to have a lot of changes, negotiations, and that would be one of the things that will probably have to be talked (about),” White, an East Memphis Republican, said recently.
Tax revenues are $610 million short of projections this fiscal year, and the Lee administration is proposing a $1.2 billion franchise tax rebate because of “significant risk of a legal threat,” on top of tax breaks passed last year.