Tennessee’s education commissioner refused to say Tuesday whether she supports or opposes the possible rejection of more than $1 billion in annual school funding from the federal government.

Education Commissioner Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds and three top staffers testified to the General Assembly working group exploring that possibility Tuesday, providing thorough information about federal funding for food, special education and more.

But she and her aides steered clear of the central question: whether the state should keep that funding or not.

With revenue ‘returning to normal,’ state talks fiscal year 2025

“We are watching the process happen as it comes along, and I think the team did a great job in talking about the intricacies of federal funding,” she told The Daily Memphian in a brief interview.

Asked to confirm that she wasn’t taking a position, Reynolds repeated she was watching the process and would provide any information lawmakers requested.

It was a busy day for Reynolds, who started as commissioner in June, as she appeared before two legislative committees and presented their proposed fiscal year 2025 budget to Gov. Bill Lee.

In addition to the committee on federal funding, TDOE spoke to the House Finance Committee about school-resource officers.

‘Up in the air’

While TDOE officials declined to take a position on federal funding, they did note it would be difficult to reject it, and many administrative requirements may remain in place.

“It’s hard to project exactly how decisions would play out if made,” Reynolds told the committee. She said many questions “may be best posed to constitutional lawyers, which we are not.”

Federal funding accounts for about $1.3 billion in TDOE’s fiscal year 2024 budget, said Debby Thompson, TDOE’s assistant commissioner of federal funds and oversight. That represented just under 10% of education funding in Tennessee, but represented only the four recurring formula-based funds — not one-time funds. The state budgeted $6.9 billion, or 53%. Local governments contributed the rest.

She said about 460 people statewide are responsible for federal-administrative support, while more than 9,400 support programs for kids funded by the federal government.

State Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro, asked whether the state could reject some funds and not others. Lawmakers posed the same question to other experts last week and did not receive a concrete answer; the Sycamore Institute said answers might have to come as the result of lawsuits.

“To be honest with you, that’s still a little bit up in the air,” deputy commissioner Sam Pearcy told White. “In general, ma’am, that’s a tough question to answer.”

TDOE’s fiscal 2025 budget request

Meanwhile, TDOE did not make any unexpected requests for its fiscal year 2025 budget Tuesday afternoon.

The state created a new school-funding formula last year, known as the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, or TISA. TDOE’s budget increase request includes $260 million for TISA.

“Implementation is the department’s priority,” Reynolds told Lee.

Her budget request also includes more than $21 million for the expansion of charter schools and $2.5 million for a universal reading screener.

She reported that 2,586 students are now attending private schools through the state-funded school voucher program, and 78 schools are participating. That was an increase from 707 students and 44 schools in the 2022-2023 school year.

It also includes $2.2 million for career and technical education, or CTE. Lee said CTE programs are particularly important for Memphis because of the jobs being created at BlueOval City.

“We should not miss the moment in time,” Lee said. “If we lean into this, they’ll have a greater opportunity of success in their life.”