VOL. 11 NO. 8
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FIRST WORDS
Opportunity for whom?
February 22, 2017
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FHS team, technology both winners
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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Video Tape to DVD cial
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Members of the winning CodeTN team Objective-F from Farragut High School: Brianna Martinson, Ethan Davila, Eric Wang, Lauren Fiet, Dennis Ross, Tyler Senter, Claire Stoneham. Photo submitted
By Suzanne Foree Neal Anyone interested in donating a venue to hold a few hundred people? How about a catered meal? If so, Mary Lin, chair of the Farragut High School Technology Gala and
teacher, would like to speak with you. She’s really into raising funds for technology equipment at the school. The first gala cleared $30,000. This year, $50,000. Her goal is
to keep all funds raised for the school. Despite appearances, Farragut High School gets the short straw when it comes to federal funding or grants because it doesn’t fit the criteria.
An iPad cart of 36 costs $18,000; a Chrome cart of 36, $12,000, three needed Smart Board systems $14,000 each. To page A-3
MPC addresses affordable housing By Margie Hagen Laying out his vision for affordable housing in Farragut, Saddlebrook Properties president Bob Mohney spoke for well over an hour, fielding questions and comments from every member of the Municipal Planning Commission. Simply put, Mohney is seeking approval for putting more units on available small lot parcels, reducing setbacks and open space requirements. Arguing that Farragut needs more affordable housing, he states, “There is
a huge hole in the entire county for this type of affordable development. “It’s all about providing housing that people want at a cost they can afford,” he said. “Empty nesters, single buyers and young millennials want new homes in Farragut with low maintenance. They don’t want weekends to be taken up with lawn work and repairs.” The homes would be priced at around $225,000 and would allow small parcels (under 10 acres) to be developed. Mohney presented photos of similar devel-
opments in Knox County. Members of MPC were divided in their opinions; several comments were made about the monotone appearance of the “row house” design: ■■ Mark Shipley, development director, was concerned about the dominance of garage doors, wide driveways and lack of sidewalks and pedestrian greenways. ■■ Ed Whiting, commissioner, brought up topographical issues including terrain obstructions and stormwater requirements. To page A-2
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-
ADDICTED TO
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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