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Gov. Bill Lee moves forward with new education formula

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Posted at 2:58 PM, May 02, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-02 17:17:27-04

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — At his alma mater, Gov. Bill Lee signed a new education funding formula into place.

This will replace the Basic Education Program model, which has been in place since 1992. Lee said it was a historic day in education for the state, which would provide around $6,800 per student through its weighted system dubbed Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement.

"It's a student-based funding formula that considers the unique needs of every student," Lee said in the historic auditorium of Franklin High School, one of the few parts remaining from the original structure on Hillsboro Road.

The legislature voted the bill into passage last week before lawmakers concluded this year's session. Legislators bickered back and forth this year about how the new funding formula would affect their home districts, and if local commissions would have to raise property taxes to make up the difference between the two formulas.

TISA will go into effect in 2024, with the BEP phasing out in 2023.