Training Available on K-12 Education Funding and Reform

The County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) and TCCA are offering a training session about Education Funding and Reform. This is the second class in the series of evening workshops that began last fall with the Overview of the County Commission in Tennessee classes.

This class is designed to inform county commissioners about how education funding in Tennessee is structured while also providing an overview of major developments in education reform currently being implemented in our school systems. The funding portion of the class will give officials a general understanding of the Basic Education Program formula which is used to determine state and local funding for K-12 school systems in Tennessee. The funding portion of the class will focus on how an individual system’s share of education funding is determined, including the calculation of local fiscal capacity, and describe the funding requirements that state law places on local funding bodies. The reform portion of the class will review recent developments in Tennessee related to k-12 education reform, including changes in school standards and assessments through the Tennessee Diploma Project, the impact of Race to the Top Grants, the First to the Top program, changes in teacher assessments and other possible reforms. The intent is to help county officials understand new changes that are currently being implemented and how they will impact the overall performance, operation and evaluation of their local school system. Dinner will be provided at 6:00 p.m. with the session offered from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Attendance is free for county officials.

County Commissioners should be receiving a mail notice and registration form about these workshops. The dates and locations are below.

SouthEast Tennessee
Tuesday, February 8 Athens
Athens Conference Center
2405 Decatur Pike, Athens, TN

East Tennessee
Wednesday, February 9 Knoxville
UT Conference Center Building (Room 413A)
600 Henley Street. Knoxville, TN

West Tennessee
Thursday, February 17 Jackson
West TN Research and Education Center (Room A)
605 Airways Boulevard, Jackson, TN

Middle Tennessee
Wednesday, March 23 Franklin
Williamson County Ag Expo Park
4215 Long Lane, Franklin, TN