Courtney Rogers is FOR and AGAINST Vouchers

Depending on who you ask, State Representative Courtney Rogers is an avid supporter of school voucher programs or she is a reliable opponent of vouchers.

Americans for Prosperity sent a mailer to Sumner voters recently giving Rogers a grade of A+ for her support of vouchers.

Then, the Tennessee Education Association sent a mailer saying:

"Privatization groups want to destroy public schools. Courtney Rogers said NO to vouchers!"

So, the TEA is telling its members to support Courtney Rogers in the Republican primary because she opposes vouchers.

And Americans for Prosperity is telling its target audience that Courtney Rogers supports vouchers and thus, deserves a vote.

Then, there's a mailer from the Tennessee Federation for Children -- a division of the American Federation for Children with a very minimal Tennessee presence. This mailer mentions that Courtney Rogers supports "More jobs, less waste, and lower taxes."

It doesn't say anything about vouchers. But TFC is one of the state's loudest proponents of vouchers and a leading member of the School Choice NOW coalition, a group focused on bringing vouchers to Tennessee.

So, what's the story? Rogers did vote AGAINST Governor Bill Haslam's proposal for a limited voucher program that would have effectively only gone to low income students in Memphis and Nashville.

She has expressed support for a voucher program that applies to every district and every student, regardless of income.  A privatization scheme it seems the TEA would likely strongly oppose. And one that could have a devastating impact on the school system in Sumner County.

Curiously, there's not been much mail or public comment from Rep. Rogers on the voucher issue (or any other).

Perhaps she's simply relying on outside special interests to tell her story - or, tell their version of her story.

Billy Geminden Doesn't Want Educated Voters

In an interview with the Portland Leader, County Commissioner Billy Geminden expressed his dislike for the Common Core State Standards by essentially saying he didn't want education to be about creating an engaged group of voters.  Geminden:  "...I don't like trying to raise up an electorate instead of a workforce."

So, in the mind of this County Commission, it's ok if schools turn out workers, but it's not ok if those workers turn out to be educated, informed voters. 

Geminden went on to suggest that newly appointed School Board member Janet Arnold agreed with his assessment on the Common Core and that's why he voted for her.

Nevermind that neither the County Commission or School Board has any input on Tennessee's participation in Common Core (which has been a key part of Tennessee education policy since 2010 and which is supported by both former Governor Phil Bredesen, current Governor Bill Haslam, former U.S. Senator Bill Frist--now President of SCORE, and even Phil Valentine), let's focus on what kind of voters Billy Geminden wants (or, in this case, doesn't want). 

Perhaps Geminden (and by association, Arnold), don't like Common Core because they fear that a more rigorous curriculum focused on critical thinking will mean voters will actually investigate and ask questions of those for whom they may vote.  In which case, Geminden, who has been a consistent opponent of funding for Sumner County Schools, may find himself out of his elected position in 2014. 

Unfortunately for Geminden, Sumner County citizens are already pretty engaged when it comes to school funding issues.  Nevertheless, for politicians like Geminden, used to doing their business with nobody watching, the idea of a new crop of productive workers who are also engaged citizens has to be pretty scary.

No wonder he supported Janet Arnold.