NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee may say the state of the State of Tennessee is strong, but some members of the audience made it clear, they don't agree. During several parts Monday evening, the Governor had to speak over hecklers in the gallery.
The outbursts began when the Governor highlighted his school choice proposal. Hear what they had to say in the video above.
"It's time that we let parents decide, and not the government, where their child goes to school and what they learn," said Gov. Lee, which was met with a chorus of boos and cheers.
"We can give parent’s choice and support public schools at the same time," said Lee, which also featured shouts and boos from the gallery.
Troopers stood by watching, but never removed any hecklers. At one point Lee tried to calm the crowd.
"Civility is a strength, it is not a weakness," he said, which was a call back to a line he extemporaneously said last year, and it quieted the crowd.
It wasn't successful this year. As the jeers continued, another frustrated member of the audience could be heard saying, "Let the Governor speak, uninterrupted, please!"
That wasn't successful either.
If the State of the State is any guide to actual debate over school choice, it's poised to be a loud one. Here are the limited details we know about the proposed plan.
20,000 students can apply for $7,000 scholarships to send them from public school into a participating private school. 10,000 of those vouchers will be reserved for families 300% below the poverty line. The rest will be open to anyone who meets qualifications in 2024-25. In 2025-2026, anyone is eligible to apply for a voucher.
Republicans mentioned last week, they want to tie the plan to broader education reform measures that could lesson testing requirements on public schools that perform well.
"What this bill is going to do, if we get it where we think we can, it’s going to impact public schools. Give them the freedom and autonomy to be able to do more, empower teachers to do more. It’s going to provide that, it’s going to provide different funding levels, and we’re going to have choice at the same time," said Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton.
Meanwhile, Democrats stood in lockstep Monday night, against expanding the voucher program.
"The Governor wants to use our tax dollars to subsidize these private schools that aren’t even accountable to taxpayers and they can reject to any student they want," said Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat from Memphis and Senate Democratic Caucus Chair.
The Governor also proposed 114 new behavioral health liaisons in Tennessee public schools and 60 new Tennessee Highway Patrol members in the 2025 Fiscal Year budget.
Also, due to some flattening revenue projections, Tennessee will not over any type of sales tax holiday on groceries this year. In 2023, Tennesseans enjoyed a three month sales tax holiday on grocery items.
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