Vouchers vs. teacher pay? Lawmakers gear up for budget battle

Finance Commissioner Stuart McWhorter presents budget cuts to the Senate Finance Committee on March 18, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)

Tennessee lawmakers are gearing up for a long day Thursday in which they hope to come to an agreement over deep budget cuts before going into recess until the coronavirus crisis subsides.

One of the biggest sticking points is Gov. Bill Lee’s plan to keep funding in the budget to launch his school voucher program this fall while cutting a planned 4% teacher pay raise in half.

#BREAKING: @GovBillLee’s administration presented a revised budget plan Wednesday that halves the proposed increase for teacher pay and cuts most of the #education initiatives he announced before the new #coronavirus created a public health emergency. https://t.co/TtQfsV4a74

— Chalkbeat Tennessee (@ChalkbeatTN) March 18, 2020

The word around the largely deserted hallways of the Cordell Hull Building is that the House will go first on trying to pass the budget, with the Senate to follow suit later.