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Board hears state voucher rollout, homeschool obligations and rising special-education enrollment
Summary
District staff updated committees on Tennessee’s new voucher program (about 25,000 eligible students at $7,295 each), homeschool registration duties (69 registered), and a rise in the district’s special-education share to about 24%, above the state average of 15%, noting budget pressure of roughly $3.5 million.
At a March committee meeting, district staff summarized Tennessee’s first-year implementation of the state’s K–12 voucher program and described how the program and rising special-education enrollment are affecting district finances and responsibilities.
Dr. McPherson said the new voucher program makes roughly 25,000 students eligible for scholarships of $7,295 toward private tuition this year and that proposed legislation could expand eligibility to about 40,000 students with a projected per-student scholarship of $7,530 next year. He cautioned that while a "hold harmless" funding floor provides temporary relief, inflation will erode that protection and the district currently faces an approximate $3.5 million shortfall; the funding floor was described as providing roughly $2 million in temporary relief.
On homeschooling, Dr. McPherson reviewed state requirements the district administers for registered homeschool students — registration, attendance reporting, vaccinations, testing and recordkeeping — and said the district currently has 69 registered homeschool students (with the caveat that additional unregistered homeschoolers may not be tracked).
The committee also heard that the district’s special-education population has risen: about 539 students (about 18%) in 2022–23, nearly 603 (22.8%) in 2023–24, and 590 (about 24%) most recently, compared with a state average near 15 percent. Board Chair Warner Speakman emphasized the district’s responsibility to maintain capacity to serve all special-education students regardless of other providers’ limitations.
Board members discussed CTE and ROTC funding as related priorities; staff noted ROTC is not funded through the state formula but could gain partial military support if enrollment increases. The committee acknowledged the report; no committee-level vote changed funding allocations at this meeting.
