VOL. 11 NO. 8
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Opportunity for whom? By Lauren Hopson Tennessee legislators have recently rebranded private school vouchers as “opportunity scholarships.” Vouchers have undergone this transformation Hopson in the hope that unsuspecting taxpayers will forget what they are, but also because they provide real opportunities for poor, minority students to escape underperforming schools in their neighborhood, right? How is this accomplished? A poor minority student in a community far from here, let’s say Memphis, has suffered through the effects of fetal drug addiction. His mother, now in recovery, hopes to improve his chances of success by moving him out of his zoned school, which the state has branded as failing. His teachers work hard, but she fears the influence of his peers with similar issues may be too much to overcome. She accepts an opportunity scholarship with hopes of sending him to an excellent private school. However, the private school of her choice charges tuition substantially in excess of the scholarship. She can’t afford to make up the difference, and pay for books, uniforms and transportation. Consequently, she elects to send him to another private school that gladly accepts the scholarship as payment in full. The school doesn’t provide the special education services needed to deal with the fallout of her son’s fetal addiction, but it’s a private school, so it must be better, right? He struggles without those much-needed supports, and his mother is ultimately forced to return him to public school, where those services are guaranteed by law. Other parents, similarly disillusioned with the “opportunity,” follow suit. But wait, private schools backers were promised an increased enrollment by legislators. Maybe the scholarships need to be expanded to regular education students who can afford to make up the tuition difference. Never mind that this plan has had disastrous effects on public education in other states. Our private school backers need the “opportunity” to make more money, so let’s give our taxpayers the “opportunity” to fund those private schools.
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Broadway star Shamicka Benn shares secrets, heart with students By Kelly Norrell When Broadway tour performer Shamicka Benn recently visited a musical theatre class at Bearden High School, her alma mater, she gave students a clear message about her journey to Broadway tours. “It is my desire to show you it is not impossible or scary, it is just unfamiliar,” said Benn. In town to perform in the touring production of “Chicago” at the Tennessee Theater Feb. 18-19, she spoke to students at the invitation of her first drama teacher, Leann Dickson. Acclaimed for producing professional quality shows at Bearden High School, Dickson will retire in May after a career of 31 years, the last 20 at Bearden. “I don’t have a testimony of going to a great conservatory that produces triple threats (performers who can act, sing and dance at a high level),” said Benn, who earned a BFA at the University of Tennessee. “Even if you don’t go to one of those schools, your program will be whose you make it to be. It is what you invest in it.” Benn’s path led from Bearden (2000) and UT to a successful stage career in New York and a longtime role as “Go to Hell Kitty” in the Broadway International tour of “Chicago” (beginning in 2007).
Shamicka Benn, who dances, sings, acts and models, channels nervousness into energy.
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March 5 run to benefit BHS track, cross country Enjoying a spring running event will boost Bearden High School athletics, too! The Run with the Bulldogs 5K and 400M Lil Pup Fun Run will be on Sunday, March 5, at 1 p.m. on the Bearden High School campus, 8352 Kingston Pike. This two-part event will benefit the school’s track and cross country programs. First is the 1 p.m. Lil Pup Fun Run for children, a non-timed, one-lap race around
the Bearden High track. All participants will receive a finisher ribbon. Immediately afterward, the 5K race for all ages will begin outside the school cafeteria and end on the track in the football stadium. All 5K runners will receive a T-shirt and a slot in a post-race celebration, to include food from Petro’s. The top three finishers in each age category will receive awards handmade by BHS art students. In addition to overall
and age group awards, there will be a BHS alumni awards division. Parking will be in the CTE lot off Gleason Road. Pre-registration entry fees are $25 for the 5K and $10 for the Lil Pup Fun Run. There is a $5 discount for K-12 students for the 5K, to apply at checkout. Info and registration: http://beardenbulldogrun.com – Kelly Norrell
Brooks goes to bat for utility customers By Sandra Clark State Rep. Harry Brooks has slipped on a three-cornered hat and gone to war over taxation without representation. Brooks wants consumers to be represented on utility boards, such as KUB.
Analysis “We want some level of representation for the folks served by the utility,” he said. His bill (HB 0269/SB 0684 by Ken Yager) was slated to be heard Feb. 21 in a subcommittee of the House Business and Utilities committee. In an interview last week, Brooks anticipated amendments and promised a more comprehensive explanation after that hearing. This bill will draw lobbyists like flies to honey. Utilities are iceberg
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governments – operating mostly out of sight with autonomy to set rates for vital services. Some charge more for the same service to customers who live outHarry Brooks side the municipal boundaries. Many have buy-out provisions and pensions for top execs to rival athletic departments; often they co-opt the very commissioners chosen to oversee them with benefits like health insurance and trips to tradeshows. Godspeed, Brooks and Yager.
Partisan elections State Rep. “Landslide Eddie” Smith has introduced a bill to require municipal elections in cities 100,000 or larger and all of the state’s school boards to be parti-
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san. His bill (HB1039/SB0582 by Delores Gresham) allows political parties to nominate candidates. Leaving the cities to fend for themselves, let’s assume this bill is a reaction to Knox County’s last two school board elections. Fed up with S up e r i nt e nde nt Eddie Smith Jim McIntyre’s high-handed treatment of teachers (among other things), several educators mounted successful campaigns: Patti Bounds, Terry Hill and Amber Rountree in 2014; Tony Norman, Jennifer Owen and Susan Horn in 2016. Suddenly, Mike McMillan found allies while Lynne Fugate and Gloria Deathridge saw their former majority eroded. McIntyre resigned. Would partisan elections have
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prevented McIntyre’s woes? Doubtful. McMillan and Norman had previously won election to county commission as Republicans; Bounds and Hill are long-time Republicans; Horn had solid support in Farragut where she was active in the campaign of Republican state Rep. Jason Zachary. Political allegiances are less clear for Rountree and Owen, but Owen represents District 2, a toss-up area previously represented on the commission by Democrat Amy Broyles. So the anti-McIntyre majority is firm – with or without partisan elections. If Smith’s bill passes, however, it could have the unintended consequence of getting education activists involved in partisan politics at the district level … and their next election just might be to run for the Legislature.
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