NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — House Republicans say a major announcement is coming Monday evening during Governor Bill Lee's State of the State address.
House leadership teased a major investment in K-12 education. It's unclear what the specifics of the Governor's plan are, but State Rep. Jeremy Faison said it's going to have a large impact on distressed rural counties.
"There's going to be some really good things for Tennessee," he said. "I think when we're done on Monday night and you hear the state of the state address. Tennesseans are going to go home thinking, wow. We are really in good hands."
Republicans also responded to house democrat's announcement of major education reform and legislation they would be proposing during this year's legislative session.
The Democrats said they would ask for $1.5 billion towards the state education system. They also promised a rework of the state Basic Education Program (BEP).
"While the Democrats were in control of this chamber and in control of all state government, we were 49th in education for most of my life time," said state representative William Lamberth.
Lamberth cited the republican's commitment to education in the past decade. Saying they've made major monetary commitments in the budget.
"We've put a billion and a half dollars in. We put methods in place, we put processes in place to support our teachers, support our students and I am tickled that our friends on the other side of the aisle have finally joined us in our efforts to improve education because we're somewhere in the low 30s right now. That's not good enough and we're going to continue to invest heavily in education," said Lamberth.
