Tennessee's Public Schools Are in Crisis. Here's What That Means for Wilson County Families.

If you have a child in a Wilson County public school, you already know that something is not adding up. Class sizes are growing. Teachers are stretched thin. The funding that should be going into your child's classroom is quietly being redirected elsewhere. And the Tennessee state legislature has spent the last two years more focused on book bans and culture-war politics than on making sure our kids are prepared for the future.

The numbers behind this story are stark. And the families of Mount Juliet and Wilson County deserve to understand exactly what is happening to the public education system their tax dollars are supposed to fund.

"Wilson County kids deserve fully-funded classrooms and well-supported teachers." — Matt Burchfield

By the Numbers: Tennessee Ranks Last in the Nation

Tennessee has long trailed other states in education funding. But recent data reveals just how far the state has fallen behind.

#51 Tennessee now ranks dead last in the nation in per-pupil spending, according to the National Education Association's 2026 Rankings and Estimates Report.

$12,147 What Tennessee spends per public school student per year — compared to a national average of $19,393. That is a gap of more than $7,200 per child, per year.

9.8% The one-year decline in Tennessee's per-pupil spending from 2023-24 to 2024-25 — the largest single-year drop of any state in the country.

#40 Tennessee's ranking for average teacher pay. Tennessee teachers earn $61,222 per year on average — $13,000 below the national average of $74,495.

6.5% How much Tennessee teacher pay has fallen in real terms over the last decade, after adjusting for inflation. Teachers are being paid less today than they were ten years ago.

900,000+ Tennessee students currently enrolled in public schools — the families and children most directly affected by these funding decisions.

These are not abstract statistics. They represent real teachers in Wilson County schools who are buying their own classroom supplies, real students sitting in overcrowded classrooms, and real families wondering why the state keeps promising to invest in education while actually doing the opposite.

The Voucher Program: What Happened to Your Tax Dollars

In January 2025, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Education Freedom Act during a special legislative session. The law created a statewide school voucher program called Education Freedom Scholarships, using taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition.

Here is what that program looks like:

• The program launched in the 2025-26 school year with 20,000 vouchers worth $7,295 each.

• In April 2026, the legislature voted to expand the program to 35,000 vouchers worth $7,530 each for the 2026-27 school year.

• The total cost of the program is estimated at $430 million, including one-time teacher raises and administrative expenses.

• Meanwhile, the state simultaneously diverted $155 million in public funds to private schools through voucher expansion.

  
  

The most troubling detail? An estimated two-thirds of the families receiving vouchers were already enrolled in private school before the program launched. In other words, this is not primarily a program to help struggling families escape failing schools. It is a taxpayer-funded subsidy for families who were already paying for private school.

An estimated 70% of vouchers in the first year went to students already enrolled in private schools. The Department of Education declined to release the actual numbers, saying it was not required to do so by law.

Even some Republicans have pushed back. Republican State Rep. Todd Warner called the voucher program "a scam from day one." Republican Rep. Jody Barrett cited "fiscal and financial conservative concerns." The Senate passed the expansion by just 18 to 14, reflecting deep bipartisan unease.

Every dollar diverted to private school vouchers is a dollar that does not go into a Wilson County public school classroom. With Tennessee already ranking last in per-pupil spending, this is a policy choice that Wilson County families cannot afford.

Special Education: Who Gets Left Behind

One of the most important and often overlooked dimensions of the public education debate is what happens to students with disabilities when voucher programs divert funding and attention away from public schools.

Public schools are legally required under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide a free and appropriate education to every student with a disability. Private schools accepting vouchers are not held to the same standard. A student with an Individualized Education Program in a public school has legal protections and guaranteed services. A student who uses a voucher to attend private school may lose access to those same services.

Tennessee's public schools serve tens of thousands of students with disabilities, from learning differences to physical disabilities to autism spectrum disorders. These students depend on trained specialists, structured IEPs, assistive technology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and the full range of services that only fully funded public schools are equipped to provide.

When public school budgets are cut or diverted, special education programs are among the first to feel the pressure. Reducing the resources that support Tennessee's most vulnerable students is not a conservative value. It is not a Tennessee value. And it is not something Wilson County families should have to accept.

Public schools are legally required to serve every student. Voucher programs are not. For families of children with disabilities, this distinction is not a policy detail — it is their child's future.

Career and Technical Education: Preparing Students for Real Jobs

Not every student is headed to a four-year university, and that is not a failure. It is a reality that Tennessee's economy depends on. Skilled tradespeople, healthcare technicians, information technology workers, advanced manufacturing employees — these careers offer strong wages and real opportunities, and they start with strong Career and Technical Education programs in high school.

Tennessee has made meaningful investments in CTE, offering programs across 16 nationally recognized career clusters at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. Wilson County students have access to programs in areas including healthcare, information technology, business, and skilled trades through local high schools and the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.

But CTE programs are not free. They require updated equipment, certified instructors, and dedicated facilities. When overall education funding is cut and diverted, CTE programs compete with core academics for shrinking dollars. The result is outdated equipment, understaffed programs, and students who graduate without the certifications that employers are actively looking for.

Matt Burchfield believes that investing in CTE is investing in Wilson County's economic future. A student who leaves high school with a healthcare certification or a skilled trades credential is a student who can start building a career immediately. That is good for families, good for employers, and good for the local economy.

Why CTE matters for Wilson County:

• Construction, healthcare, and information technology are among the fastest-growing employment sectors in Middle Tennessee.

• CTE credentials often lead to starting wages well above minimum wage, providing a path to the middle class without four-year college debt.

• Businesses in Wilson County consistently cite the need for more locally trained skilled workers.

• A strong CTE pipeline reduces the need for employers to recruit talent from outside the region.

Technology in the Classroom: Preparing for the World Students Will Inherit

The students sitting in Wilson County classrooms today will enter a workforce defined by artificial intelligence, advanced data systems, digital communication, and automation. Preparing them for that world is not optional. It is the core responsibility of a modern public education system.

But technology equity is a real challenge in Tennessee. Not every school has reliable broadband access. Not every classroom has up-to-date devices. Not every teacher has received meaningful professional development on how to integrate technology into instruction in ways that actually improve learning outcomes.

Tennessee has made progress through programs like TNReady and through federal funding streams. But progress is not enough when the baseline is so far behind. Expanding broadband access, ensuring every student has access to a functional device, and investing in teacher training for technology instruction are not luxury expenditures. They are essential investments for any community that wants its young people to be competitive in the economy of the future.

This is especially important in Wilson County, where rapid population growth means more students entering the system every year. Getting this right now — while the district is still growing — is far more efficient than trying to retrofit an underfunded system later.

Student Mental Health: The Crisis Inside the Classroom

Behind the test scores and the budget spreadsheets, there is a quieter crisis unfolding in Tennessee's schools. Students are struggling emotionally and psychologically in ways that previous generations did not face at the same scale. And Tennessee's public schools are critically understaffed to meet that need.

429:1 The average student-to-school-counselor ratio in Tennessee — nearly double the 1:250 ratio recommended by the American School Counseling Association.

1 in 5 Tennessee children who have a diagnosed mental health disorder.

60% Tennessee residents who need mental health services but do not receive treatment.

40% Of U.S. high school students who experience prolonged feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to CDC data.

"Being present and available when you have 700 students is impossible," said Amy Baltimore, board chair of the Tennessee School Counselors Association, speaking to WPLN News. That is not a complaint about the counselors. It is a structural failure — a systemic underfunding of the mental health infrastructure that students desperately need.

The consequences of this gap are measurable. Students without adequate counseling access are more likely to experience lower graduation rates, decreased college enrollment, increased disciplinary issues, and heightened risk of suicidal ideation. These are not soft outcomes. They are predictors of a student's entire life trajectory.

Mental health support in schools is not a luxury. It is not a political issue. It is a public health and educational necessity. Wilson County is growing fast, and that growth brings more students with more diverse needs into our schools every year. Investing in school counselors, social workers, and mental health liaisons is one of the most effective investments a school district can make.

Research shows that students who don't have access to a school counselor are more likely to face lower graduation rates, decreased college enrollment, increased disciplinary issues, and increased suicidal ideation. Tennessee has one counselor for every 429 students. The recommended ratio is 1:250.

What Matt Burchfield Believes — and What He Will Fight For

Matt Burchfield is a teacher, a parent, and a Wilson County neighbor who has seen firsthand what it looks like when a community invests in its young people. He is running for Tennessee House District 57 because the state legislature has made a series of choices over the past several years that have put political agendas ahead of Tennessee's children.

Here is what Matt believes about public education:

• Public school funding belongs in public schools. Voucher programs that divert hundreds of millions of dollars to private institutions — primarily benefiting families already enrolled in private school — are not education reform. They are a subsidy for the few at the expense of the many.

• Every student deserves a fully funded classroom. Tennessee cannot rank last in per-pupil spending and 40th in teacher pay and expect to build the workforce and the future that Wilson County families deserve.

• Special education is non-negotiable. Students with disabilities have a legal right to services that only public schools are equipped to provide. Defunding public schools puts those students at risk.

• Career and Technical Education is a pathway to the middle class. Investing in CTE programs is investing in the local economy and in the futures of students who deserve options beyond a four-year degree.

• Technology equity matters. Every Wilson County student should have access to the tools and instruction they need to compete in a technology-driven economy.

• Mental health support is not optional. No school counselor should be responsible for 429 students. Investing in school mental health resources is investing in student success.

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Tennessee's public schools are not failing because teachers do not care or parents are not engaged. They are struggling because the state government has made choices that prioritize vouchers over classrooms, political theater over teacher pay, and private school lobbying over the nearly one million students enrolled in Tennessee's public education system.

Wilson County families deserve a state representative who will stand up and fight for the schools their children attend every day. Matt Burchfield is ready to be that representative.

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Sources & Further Reading

National Education Association, Rankings and Estimates Report 2026 (April 2026)

Nashville Banner — Tennessee's public school funding drops to lowest in the U.S. (April 29, 2026)

Nashville Scene — Republicans' Education Agenda Narrowed to School Vouchers (May 7, 2026)

WPLN News — Tennessee passes governor's school vouchers plan (February 1, 2025)

Chalkbeat Tennessee — Tennessee to expand voucher program to 35,000 students (April 16, 2026)

Tennessee Lookout — Private-school voucher expansion faces Tennessee GOP opposition (January 14, 2026)

WPLN News — Tennessee doesn't have enough school counselors (April 1, 2025)

Healthcare Value Hub — Tennessee Survey on Healthcare Affordability Burdens (December 2025)

University of Memphis SMART Center — Current Statistics on Tennessee Children's Mental Health

CDC — Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Data (June 2025)

Tennessee Department of Education — Special Education Manual 2025

Tennessee SCORE — Federal Career and Technical Education Funding in Tennessee (July 2025)