GOP chairman regrets voting for voucher bill, says program won't be implemented in 2020

Implementation of Gov. Bill Lee's school voucher program may face a hurdle from Republicans after the Tennessee Department of Education fielded critical questions on Wednesday from lawmakers about a new contract, leading one legislator to say he now regrets voting for the controversial measure.

Led by Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough and chairman of the House appropriations committee, multiple members of the committee took part in an intense line of questioning regarding the education department's procurement — without issuing a request for proposal — of a $2.5 million contract with ClassWallet.

The company is set to administer applications and funds being used for the state's education savings account program, which will provide participating families roughly $7,000 per child to send students to private schools. The program is limited to Memphis and Nashville, where both local governments are currently suing the state over its constitutionality.

While the ESA program was initially set to begin in 2021, Gov. Bill Lee announced in recent months that his administration was moving up the start date to this fall, despite concerns from some lawmakers.

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Faison: 'I have probably regretted that vote more than any vote I've taken'

House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, said questions around how the bill was passed in the legislature and how the Department of Education secured the no-bid contract — for more than the amount approved by lawmakers — were problematic.

"In my core of who I am, I believe in parental choice," Faison said. "I made the decision to support the legislation.

"Since that day, I have probably regretted that vote more than any vote I've taken."

Faison alluded to how multiple members claimed they were offered incentives in exchange for flipping their vote on the voucher bill, which was one of Lee's top legislative initiatives last year. He also pointed to how former House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, left the vote board open more than 40 minutes as he attempted to break a tie to pass the bill.

"Things were done, reported, in the legislature, and that's on us," Faison said. "Things that look maybe nefarious. The way the board was left open. It looks sketchy to the general public of Tennessee."

Faison also rebuked the department for using money from another program, Career Ladders, to fund the difference between the approved $771,000 per year for the contract and the $1.2 million annual contract the department has entered.

The Career Ladders program, which still receives funding from the legislature each year but is being phased out, is intended to offer salary supplements for teachers.

"We just decided to rob a pot of money that had nothing to do with the legislation that was passed," Faison said, adding that the whole process gave off a "very DC feeling."

David Thurman, with the Department of Finance and Administration, testified that the department is allowed to move money from one of its programs to another.

After the meeting, Faison elaborated on why he regretted voting for the legislation.

"What happened on the House floor was embarrassing," he told reporters. "Number two, it would appear to me and the rest of Tennessee that we have not rolled this out right.

"I can’t answer to my constituents that this has gone correctly."

Despite Faison saying he regretted voting for the measure, he stopped short of offering support for a bill to repeal the law, saying the effort would fail in the Senate.

Asked how the legislature could halt the implementation of the ESA law, Faison noted the Department of Education's finances.

"It's not going to happen this year," he said.

Less than an hour after Faison announced vouchers wouldn't be implemented this year, a Lee administration official contacted the Tennessean, encouraging a reporter to reach back out to Faison to clarify his remarks.

Faison subsequently said that after the hearing, he spoke with Lee's chief of staff, Blake Harris, who said the ESA program was still set to begin this year.

"From my understanding this was supposed to be implemented in 2021," Faison said. "But nothing legislatively is going to happen this year to make this happen.

"There's nothing in the legislature that will speed this up."

Department of Education did not respond to requests

Hill, who was visibly angry throughout the committee hearing over the Department of Education's procurement of the contract, said that the legislature's fiscal review department received no notice that the contract was signed, but instead read about it in a news story in November.

"When fiscal review asks for months — months — for details on the financials of this grant, contract, whatever, and gets the cold shoulder and gets no response whatsoever until after it's issued, those are real problems," Hill said.

In a statement afterward, the Department of Education maintained that it had followed proper procedures in securing the contract.

"Testimony from our staff, the Central Procurement Office, and the Department of Finance and Administration made clear today that the Department of Education followed well-known and well-established state government rules for procuring vendor services through a grant contract," said Chelsea Crawford, spokesperson for the department. "Every single student deserves access to a high-quality education, so the department will remain focused on serving the best interest of students and implementing the ESA program with fidelity."

Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dredsen, and Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet and chair of the House finance committee, both defended the bill and said they did not regret their votes in favor of the ESA program.

"To this point, I have not seen a smoking gun here that I think some might insinuate is present," Holt said.

Holt urged committee members to remember why they voted for the bill in the first place, which was to allow families to have the ability to choose better schools for students.

Hill, who also voted in favor of the ESA bill, fired back that the purpose of the hearing was not about the merits of the bill, but about how the finances were handled.

"That is not about the spirit of school choice or whatever else," Hill said. "That's for the education committee. This is the appropriations subcommittee. And at the end of the day, we have some questions that need to be addressed."

Republican chair requests communication records

Hill asked Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn to submit documentation proving "all due diligence that was done to show that ClassWallet was the only option" ahead of the subcommittee's meeting next week.

"We’ve been here for an hour and 10 minutes on this and we’re just getting started," Hill said at one point during the hearing.

Multiple lawmakers urged the department to increase transparency and agreed that continued discussions on the topic were warranted.

"I fundamentally agree with the notion of school choice and a parent being able to take ownership of their child," Faison said. "But in an effort to do something noble, if we throw away our integrity and say we're going to accomplish this noble idea regardless of what it costs, then maybe it wasn’t a noble idea."

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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