Rep. Mike HarrisonNASHVILLE -- A proposed school voucher bill continues to have problems in the House Finance Subcommittee with the chairman now saying he won't vote for it until the measure unless its amended to include his own plan.
"Unless that amendment goes on, I can't vote for it," Rep. Mike Harrison, R-Rogersville, told reporters this afternoon.
The Senate-passed bill would allow low-income parents, whose children attend failing public schools in the bottom 5 percent of schools statewide, to use taxpayer-funded vouchers to send the students to private and religious schools.
As approved by the Senate, the bill says the number of first-year students would be limited to 5,000 students, slowly increasing over a several-year period to 20,000.
But if there are not enough students zoned for the school who apply, remaining slots would be open to any low-income student zoned for any school in the entire district even if their school isn't failing
Harrison said he can't go along with that, hence his amendment. It applies to students who attend a school in the bottom 10 percent statewide.
"Instead of 5 percent it takes it to 10 percent. But it's within that school zone, not the whole [district], it doesn't up the whole county," Harrison said. "Just the kids that are zoned for that failing schools."
Only five school districts, including Hamilton's, have schools in the bottom 5 percent. Harrison acknowledged his amendment would likely result in vouchers being offered in other counties.