Jason Gonzales

jagonzales@tennessean.com

The Metro Nashville Public Schools board voted Tuesday evening to sue the state for a greater share of education funding, saying Tennessee is not providing enough money to help teach English to children for whom it is a second language.

The board approved the lawsuit, with six members in favor and two — Elissa Kim and Mary Pierce — abstaining. Board member Jo Ann Brannon was unable to attend the meeting.

The subject of suing the state for education funds has been a topic for the past year, and the issue came to a head after Metro Law Director Jon Cooper sent a letter June 1 asking the state why Nashville received less money for its English language learners, or ELL, this year.

In a June 3 response, Maryanne Durski, the Tennessee Department of Education's local finance office director, notified Cooper that the funding allocation through the fiscal year general appropriations act provided adequate funds.

Board Vice Chairwoman Anna Shepherd said the letter was the last straw for her.

"This is state law, and they are just being flippant about it," she said. "And I don't think this is a flippant topic."

Board member Will Pinkston, who has advocated to sue the state for the past year, said Nashville schools have the highest ELL population in the state and the district has a unique opportunity to teach those students.

"The idea that these schools — which literally sit in the shadow of the state Capitol — are getting intentionally short-shrifted by the state is frankly maddening," he said. "Local taxpayers are doing our part, and the state Department of Education sends us a blow-off letter."

State officials did not immediately answer requests for comment Tuesday night.

With the district suing the state for education funding, it joins Shelby County Schools and seven Hamilton County-area districts in their pursuit of more Basic Education Program funds.

BEP, as it is commonly called, is the formula the state uses to factor the cost to educate an individual student in Tennessee. Those expenses could include items such as textbooks, salaries for teachers and money to teach English language learning students.

Many of the large, urban districts in the state have claimed the state government has underfunded education statewide — some say by up to $500 million; others have put the figure even higher.

The Hamilton County-area schools were the first to bring a case against the state last year. Shelby County Schools joined soon after by filing a lawsuit accusing the state government of withholding funds and disproportionately hurting children in impoverished areas.

The decision brings action to a long mulled over idea by the Metro school board.

But in April, the wait-and-see approach the board has employed since last year seemed to be over. The majority of the school board said it was ready to enter litigation with the state in April during a governance committee meeting.

Nashville schools to wait on education funding lawsuit

The board, however, shelved the idea after board attorney Corey Harkey advised members to wait until Gov. Bill Haslam's budget was approved.

The state budget features changes to the way the Basic Education Program is funded, and Harkey said she wanted those changes to be set before filing a lawsuit. With Tennessee's budget finalized, the board then needed to take care of a grueling director search in May.

This year, Haslam was able to get $261 million in new money approved for public education, with $104.6 million dedicated to teacher raises. It's the second year of substantial increases to education funding statewide.

Reach Jason Gonzales at 615-259-8047 and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.

Metro Schools seeks legal advice over BEP lawsuits