The pending confirmations of two appointees to Gov. Bill Lee's new charter school commission are facing bipartisan resistance in the legislature, raising questions about whether the appointments will go through.

The House of Representatives on Monday was scheduled to vote to confirm Mary Pierce and Alan Levine to the state's new Public Charter School Commission, a newly created, nine-member board that will have the final say on appeals of local decisions about charter schools.

But Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis and chairman of the education committee, announced on the House floor he would be rolling, or deferring, a vote on the two appointees for two more weeks.

Afterward, White confirmed there were not enough votes to pass resolutions confirming the pair, which has already been done in the Senate.

"I didn’t think I had them tonight," White said of the votes needed. "There was no need to get into that on the floor where they are not here to defend themselves."

After a discussion in a House Republican Caucus meeting ahead of Monday's floor vote about a recent Facebook post made by Pierce — for which she later apologized — some members were reluctant to approve her to the commission.

In the post in question, Pierce, a former Metro Nashville school board member, discussed the children of Nashville Democratic Reps. Bo Mitchell and Mike Stewart and listed where they attended school. Mitchell and Stewart, of whom Pierce was critical, are opponents to Lee's school voucher legislation that passed last year.

Pierce also listed other locally elected officials and their children's schools.

White said Pierce had eventually amended the post to remove information about where the officials' children went to school, and that she had apologized for including it. The post still describes the categories of schools the children attend.

Pierce did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

One House Republican member was quick to publicly state his opposition to Pierce's appointment after learning about the post during the caucus meeting.

"It's all fun and games until it's your kids," said Rep. Brandon Ogles, R-Franklin, pointing to his own experience of having his children's photos posted by Internet trolls on Twitter.

"If you lack the discernment not to post about people's kids online, you're not getting my support, ever. There are some lines you don't cross."

After session that evening, other Republicans expressed having reservations about the vote.

Through a spokesperson, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, declined to comment on Lee's appointments on Tuesday, referring questions about them to the governor's office.

Governor urges legislature to approve appointments 'without delay'

Gillum Ferguson, a spokesman for Lee, said the governor stood by the appointments.

“The governor’s nominees are highly qualified individuals, and we urge the General Assembly to approve them without delay so they can get to work on behalf of Tennessee’s parents and students," Ferguson said.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, defended Pierce.

"A momentary lapse in judgment on social media does not in and of itself disqualify someone from serving on a state board," Lamberth said.

White also said he did not believe the post was disqualifying, but that "you should never talk about someone's children."

Pierce was elected to the Metro Nashville Public Schools board in 2014, drawing heavy support from charter school proponents.

She served just one term on the board, announcing in 2018 that she would not seek reelection in order to spend more time with her family. Pierce said at the time she would continue to stay active in Nashville schools.

During her time in office, Pierce repeatedly clashed with charter school opponents on the board and on social media, defending criticisms of the school model while approving proposals to expand charter school operations in the city.

Charter schools are public schools operated by private companies.

Second charter appointee faces criticism from Democrats

Levine, on the other hand, received pushback from a Democrat who stood to speak in opposition to his confirmation.

Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, objected to Levine, who is executive chairman, president and CEO of Ballad Health. The company operates a number of hospitals in Northeast Tennessee and in Virginia and has drawn protests from local residents over decisions to cut and combine services at some hospitals.

Johnson also noted how Levine was featured in a "60 Minutes" special in 2012, in which he was forced to defend the billing practices of Health Management Associates, where he was an executive at the time.

The U.S. Department of Justice later announced the company would have to pay back $260 million from a scheme to defraud the government through false billing of government health care programs and kickbacks.

"I am grateful to the House and Senate for their service, and I have confidence in the process," Levine said in an email Tuesday. "However, the statements by Representative Johnson are not accurate."

Levine pushed back on Johnson on the floor describing him as the CEO of HMA, which he was not, and said the criminal actions in question "stemmed from a period of time before I was employed by the company."

"I have also been on the record saying that 'if it were ever shown that anyone did anything improper, I will advocate that the full weight of the law be brought upon those who were responsible,'" Levine said.

He has also previously worked for former Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida.

Jason Gonzales contributed.

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

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