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Parents and educators urge Montgomery County board to track Tennessee voucher law; community meeting set Feb. 25
Summary
Parents and a local teachers— association speaker told the Montgomery County School Board they are concerned about Tennessee—s new voucher law and its effects on rural districts; a community meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25 at Burke Cobb Community Center.
Katherine Garrigan, a Clarksville parent, and a representative of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Association urged the Montgomery County School Board on Monday to monitor how Tennessee—s recently passed voucher legislation could affect local students and taxpayers.
Garrigan, who said she has two children in the district and experience with individualized education programs, told the board she saw the state—s voucher bill move quickly through committees and said questions from lawmakers and the public were dismissed. "If you don't invite questions and interest to the people who are going to be affected by this the most, I feel that's a red flag personally," she said.
Why it matters: speakers warned that rural areas of Tennessee have limited private-school options and said the state law could shift public dollars away from local public schools. Garrigan said Tennessee ranks roughly in the low 40s nationally for per-student spending and told the board that "the national average per student invested is around between $20,000 to $24,000 per student per year. Tennessee is somewhere between $10,000 and $12,000." She said legislative provisions that raise school funding by 3–5% a year would not close that gap.
A representative of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Association told the board the association remains focused on providing "the best education possible to every student" and urged the board to work with the association to monitor how Nashville legislation will "realistically and directly impact our school district." The association speaker said assurances that public schools will not be harmed by the "education freedom act of 2025" are "difficult if not impossible to keep based on what we've seen in other states who have created similar programs." The speaker asked the board to commit to discussions with the union and with district staff.
Garrigan and the association speaker both announced that a community meeting about the law will be held Feb. 25 at the Burke Cobb Community Center from 5 to 7 p.m. Garrigan invited members of the public to attend.
Board members acknowledged concerns raised from the public comments and thanked speakers for attending. Several board members asked staff to continue monitoring proposed state legislation and its local effects; the board did not take any formal policy action on the voucher issue during the meeting.
Ending: The board's formal business continued after public comment; speakers urged community engagement and continued monitoring of state action as the district assesses potential local impacts.
