CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Candidates for three Tennessee House seats addressed voters at a candidate forum hosted by Clarksville Voices for Education this week discussing education, classroom working conditions, and financial pressures facing local families.
The event Wednesday at the Clarksville-Montgomery County North Branch Library included candidates for Tennessee House Districts 67, 68 and 75. Attendees submitted questions ahead of time, and the candidates had one to two minutes to answer each prompt.
Phillips on special education, cost of living
Allie Phillips, the Democratic candidate for House District 75, advocated for better funding for public schools, listening to teachers, and making the cost of living manageable for working-class families.
“When I talk about public education, I’m not just talking about policy,” Phillips said. “I’m talking about a system that helps shape who I am today and one that I want to make sure is there for the next generation.”
Phillips said teachers face a shortage of staffing and resources that public school funding cannot afford to fix. The result is that teachers are working in overcrowded classrooms, spending their paychecks on classroom necessities, and struggling to live on their current salaries. Overall, she said, we need to pay our teachers what they are worth.
She also called for ending the state’s school voucher program and redirecting that funding to public school pre-K and special education.
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Regarding special education, Phillips said as a mom with a child with special needs who had an IEP, she knows firsthand how important these services are to children and their families. She also said she does not believe standardized testing is sufficient to determine student and teacher success.
Phillips added that testing should be used as a tool to understand how to help students, not as the final word. “Our students are more than a test score,” she said. “And our teachers are more than those students’ test scores.”
Phillips said she will listen to teachers and working families, looking at everyone’s needs. “I may be running as a Democrat, but I am not my party, and my party does not control me.”
Lankford: ‘Making Montgomery County a special place’
Current District 75 state Rep. Michael Lankford, a Republican, previously served on the County Commission and was appointed to the position following the passing of former Rep. Jeff Burkhart.
Born and raised in Montgomery County, Lankford said the education system needs continuous review of schools, and the changes need to benefit teachers and the county. Lankford added that a teacher review committee has been established, and further review of funding, allocations and components such as staffing are being discussed.
“I’m open to looking at the data and reviewing it,” Lankford said. “And if there’s gaps, then yes, I would support working toward addressing those gaps.”
When discussing the teen suicide rate in county schools, Lankford said the state has spent $3 million to expand school-based behavioral health programs and mental health awareness, including substance abuse and violence prevention. Lankford added that the goal cannot simply be to establish a program, but to ensure that students and parents are receiving these resources and eliminate the barriers preventing families from using these resources.
Regarding testing and funds, Lankford said he supports the TCAP review board and that teachers administering these assessments should have a meaningful voice in determining whether the assessments are accomplishing what is needed for students.
Lankford said he is open to discussing limiting class sizes in public schools, but that several factors, such as affording more staff, go into the budget and determine which needs must be prioritized first. “That’s a double-edged sword,” Lankford said. “So when we try to make things cheaper, we also have to be more frugal with where we spend our funds as well.”
Scott: ‘You’re going to have an ally at the state Capitol’
Garfield Scott, the Democratic candidate for state House District 68, is running against current state Rep. Aron Maberry, a Republican, who could not attend due to recovery from a pre-planned surgery.
Scott said teachers need to be heard to help the young minds of our future. He pointed to teachers facing burnout with 25 to 35 students per class, and to the declining retention rate in public schools and special education resources.
“If we put our money back into our public schools, We can solve 98% of our problems,” Scott said.
Scott called for holding the members of the education board accountable for the decisions they make about funding resources for teachers, aides and counselors, and for the burden of class sizes, which limits students from receiving the care they need.
He also called for eliminating the voucher program so that public schools can receive the funds private schools were taking. “That’s where it all starts at all the time. … That’s where most of the problem in our public schools started from,” said Scott. “These vouchers. They are a disaster.”
| MORE: Where do they stand? Tennessee House District 68 candidates Maberry, Scott
Glynn on overcrowding, vouchers
State House District 67 Rep. Ronnie Glynn, the Democratic candidate, is running for his third term. He said it is important to him to advocate for public schools in the county and to ensure proper care for the schools his grandchildren and all children in the county attend.
Glynn called for limiting the workload on public school teachers that is being piled on at the state level. He said that by mandating work-condition surveys, legislators can gain a better understanding of teachers’ needs regarding resources, mental health and retention.
“One of the things I’ve learned since I’ve been here is that we have a retention problem,” he said. “That retention problem is because we’re putting too much on our teachers and we’re not paying them for the services that they’re providing.”
Glynn supports lowering the class size limit because it is important for children who struggle, whether in academic, behavioral or financial areas. He said the funding must account for students with more intensive needs, and for the costs of recruiting qualified staff who will provide more time for teachers to work one-on-one with students.
Glynn pointed out that the community is spending $300 million in taxpayer money on private schools, while it would cost only $143 million to reduce class sizes.
He said if we want these actions to take place, we have to ensure that the right people are in office and that accountability and transparency remain at the forefront when changes are made to the education system.
He pointed out that Tennessee ranks at the bottom in student funding. He said public schools are the backbone of our country, but the county is doing a “disingenuous service” to the children in our public schools by not listening to the schools’ needs.
Chris Lanier on school funding, mental health resources
The Republican candidate for state House District 67, Chris Lanier, currently serves on the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board. He said he agrees teachers deserve to be heard, referencing the statewide anonymous educator survey conducted every year.
Lanier said he listens to educators’ needs through this survey, but would like to adapt the form to include special education, school psychologists, counselors and nurses, as these roles have different experiences from regular classroom educators. He called for legislation to retain the details of the issues listed in the survey and develop improvement plans that will aid the current working conditions while keeping open communication with the community.
Lanier also supports reducing classroom sizes and believes the state should prioritize reducing class sizes in special education, early grades and high school classrooms. “Smaller classes will allow the teachers to provide more individualized instruction, Lanier said. “However, this must be a fully funded phase plan and not an unfunded mandate.”
Lanier also called for strengthening teacher recruitment through competitive salaries, scholarships and residency programs, and by implementing these funds, the retention rate will improve.
On the topic of student wellness, Lanier said that the School Board has looked into what services the school system can provide, including counselors, social workers, crisis response and mental health referrals. “I’m currently working with CMCSS to ensure that every student and family knows how to access,” he said. “I think that’s our biggest fault there is that people haven’t been educated how to reach out.”
Lanier said the School Board is working towards reducing the county’s high suicide rate by ensuring every family has the resources to pinpoint warning signs and how to reach out when a child is in crisis.
| MORE: Where do they stand? Tennessee House District 67 candidates Glynn, Lanier
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How to register, how to vote in November
The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5. Early voting will be Oct. 14-29.
Tennessee voters are required to show a valid photo identification. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Tennessee state government, or the federal government are acceptable, even if expired. College student IDs are not accepted.
For more information on voting, including registering to vote, go to the Montgomery County Election Commission website, visit their office at 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 404, email vote@mcgtn.net or call 931-648-5707.
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