This - like most other "conservative" projects - is all about privatization.
- Fund the campaigns for wingnut school board candidates
- Cut School budgets
- Complain about "underperforming schools"
- Make sure you use negative terms like "government schools" and name your efforts to kill public schools things like "Kids First" or "Parents Matter" or something that sounds right, but is actually a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing kinda shit
- In the meantime, steal wages and push down on the benefits so regular people have less opportunity - and far fewer resources available - to fight for their interests
REVEALED: Confidential documents describe secret effort to elect lawmakers for school privatization
Confidential documents reveal that a group of school privatization groups actually work together to use their resources to try to buy seats in the Tennessee legislature.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Confidential documents reveal that a group of school privatization groups, each claiming to be separate entities with separate agendas, actually work together to try to buy seats in the Tennessee legislature for candidates who are willing to vote against traditional public schools.
The documents, leaked to NewsChannel 5 Investigates, show how those groups — working as part of what they call the "Tennessee Coalition for Students" — sometimes try to convince voters that politicians who support traditional public schools are just bad people.
"You're creating an oligarchy of people who influence your policy," said J.C. Bowman, a self-described conservative who serves as executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee.
"We're getting the best government that money can buy, and they are buying it."
Case in point: a seat in the state House bought and paid for in 2022 by special interests.
Running for the House in 2022, Maryville realtor Bryan Richey had no fancy ads of his own, and he spent a measly $15,000 in the Republican primary.
But Richey had opinions that appealed to school privatization groups.
"In my personal opinion on school choice, we have taxpayer dollars that are there to educate students. I don't care what arena - whether it's private school, public school, home school," Richey told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
As a result, a group of powerful forces who want to privatize Tennessee schools got together and decided Richey would be a good investment.
Tennesseans for Putting Students First mailer in support of Bryan Richey
"My understanding is that there was quite a bit of money came in from outside the state," said former Rep. Bob Ramsey, R-Maryville.
During the Republican primary, Ramsey found himself under a well-financed attack by the independent groups supporting Richey.
One Facebook ad from school privatization forces told voters, "Bob Ramsey voted to raise your gas tax 30 percent."
Online and by mail, those groups began to demonize the incumbent representative who had always supported traditional public schools.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Ramsey: "At some point did you realize that you might be in trouble?"
"Yes," Ramsey said.
"When the mailers just would not quit coming and they were so offensive and fictitious and cruel, really, just plain cruel, I knew it was going to be a rather blood bath on my end."
When the reports were in, Richey got $52,038 in help from Make Liberty Win, a dark money group with ties to billionaire Charles Koch.
The Tennessee Federation for Children spent $38,439 to help Richey, who got another $30,044 in ad spending from Team Kid PAC and $15,484 from Tennesseans for Putting Students First.
Altogether, that's $136,005 — nine times as much as Richey spent himself.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Richey: "I was trying to figure out how these seemingly independent groups decided that you were their guy."
"I have no clue," the newly elected representative insisted.
But the confidential documents obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates show how those seemingly independent groups work together to elect lawmakers who will vote their way.
We showed our stash of documents, some from campaigns in 2016, to Tennessee Education Association lobbyist Jim Wrye.
"So this was the presentation they were using?" Wrye asked. "Phil, what I wouldn't have done to have this right then and there."
We asked Wrye: "Is it widely known that these groups are working together?"
"Well, it's kind of blatantly obvious," Wrye said.
Again, we pressed. "But they don't admit it?"
"No, certainly not," the TEA lobbyist agreed.
Among the documents were ones drafted for the 2016 legislative races and submitted to a foundation controlled by the billionaire Walton family of Walmart fame, asking for funding for their "Tennessee Coalition for Students."
That coalition included the groups Tennesseans for Student Success, StudentsFirst (now known as TennesseeCAN), Stand for Children and the American Federation for Children.
Among the coalition's goals: "the defeat of at least four anti-education reform incumbents" — with a total proposed budget of $3.7 million dollars.
"I knew they were working together, but I'm surprised at how much political money that they are spending in our campaigns," J.C. Bowman said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates showed Bowman a strategy document where the groups describe plans to use their big money in "key races ... where the opportunity exists to shape the balance of power in the Legislature."
As a litmus test, the groups would only support politicians who support privately operated charter schools, state interventions to take over traditional public schools and private choice — in other words, school vouchers to send tax dollars to private schools.
We asked Bowman: "Should the public know if the Walton family is trying to pick legislators in Tennessee?"
"Absolutely," he insisted.
"Like NASCAR, we joke about it that NASCAR has the little signs of all the sponsors they have. Politicians are going to need to wear the same thing."
In the case of then Nashville state Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, the document notes: "We must protect this seat."
It was an effort viewed to be worth an investment of $563,807.
In the case of then Senate Education Chair Delores Gresham, R-Somerville, "This is a seat that we must all protect."
The investment there: $307,097.
And while the groups cited then Rep. Eddie Smith, R-Knoxville, as a "reliable vote" on most issues, their main concern was keeping his Democratic opponent, Gloria Johnson, out of office.
Johnson read the document's summary of why she was viewed as a threat: "She would create almost incalculable problems because of her effectiveness."
"I've never been so proud in my life," the Knoxville Democrat said with a laugh.
Ironically, two years earlier, the same groups sent out a mailer branding her "one of the least effective legislators in the state House."
"Everything thing they do is built on, is a house of lies," Johnson said. "They win elections by lying about their opponents and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Republican Bob Ramsey said he believes he was targeted in 2022 because of his support for traditional public schools.
"I trust our education system implicitly. I am a product of it, my children were products of it," he said.
One of the groups attacked him for supporting a Republican plan to increase gas taxes to pay for roads.
Then after his defeat, they put out a news release touting the outcome as a sign that their education agenda was winning.
"They ran on everything other than education," Jim Wrye observed.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked the TEA lobbyist, "So why do they not run on those issues?"
"Simple, I mean, the candidates would lose every time," Wrye said.
With Bryan Richey, the money invested proved to be a good bet.
This year, he helped defeat a Republican-sponsored bill to protect successful school districts from having those privately operated charter schools forced on them by the state.
He also tried to expand school vouchers to fund private schools statewide — a platform he received thanks to those school privatization groups that wrote the checks to get him elected.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates reached out to the groups involved in the coalition.
None would go on camera, and they did not respond to a number of specific questions posed by email.
Still, in separate statements, they did not deny that they do have this arrangement nor that they are working together to try to flip even more seats to their side in next year's elections.
Ryan Cantrell, vice president of government relations for the American Federation for Children, said in a statement:
"As you may know, coalitions of all types regularly come together to support public policy issues on which they agree. We are proud to work on our shared cause alongside allies, all of whom may have various focuses and positions but agree that parents should be empowered with more choice in education. We comply with every applicable law in our work and will continue working to advance school choice, which polls consistently show is a top issue for voters in both parties."
Sky Arnold, communications director for Tennesseans for Student Success, said in a statement:
"Tennesseans for Student Success is dedicated to a vision of providing and ensuring access to a high-quality public education for all students and we support leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to that vision. Decisions about how to engage are made by TSS, and where appropriate, communicated to individuals or organizations with shared priorities following the guidelines and regulations established by state and/or federal campaign laws. We are strictly focused on ensuring that all students, regardless of income or zip code, have access to an effective, high-quality public education."
Arnold insisted that the group "has never advocated for any form of private school choice," although he did not deny that the group works with the coalition to elect lawmakers who are willing to back school vouchers.
TennesseeCAN did not respond to NewsChannel 5's inquiry.
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