The Tennessee voucher bill passed by only one vote. There was a delay in getting that last vote. Charges flew that the vote was swayed by more than reason. The FBI started an investigation, and the legislator was just called to appear before a grand jury.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Republican lawmaker who cast the decisive vote for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher plan has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury next week, NewsChannel 5 has learned.
Two independent sources with knowledge of the investigation tell NewsChannel 5 Investigates that Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, is among a group of House Republicans who were served with federal grand jury subpoenas this week. That group includes House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville.
Zachary refused to comment as he entered the House session Thursday morning.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates was first to reveal the latest round of subpoenas delivered Tuesday…
The investigation of corruption on Tennessee’s Capitol Hill comes against the backdrop of apparently ongoing interest by the FBI in how then-Speaker Casada managed to pass Lee’s plan to create a school voucher program, known as Educational Savings Accounts, to pay for private school tuition in Davidson and Shelby counties.
In April 2019, a House vote on Lee’s voucher bill failed on a 49-49 tie vote.
Casada held the vote open for some 45 minutes while he sought the decisive 50th vote.
Zachary eventually switched his vote after Lee’s team agreed to exempt Knox County from the legislation. Zachary later denied that he was offered anything improper for his vote.
Still, in May 2019, NewsChannel 5 Investigates revealed that FBI agents had shown an interest in that vote, showing up unannounced at the home of one GOP House member.
That lawmaker, who asked not to be identified, said agents wanted to know about campaign contributions offered to support the reelection efforts of those willing to vote for the bill.
In July 2019, Rep. John Mark Windle, D-Livingston, confirmed information obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates that another lawmaker had overheard Casada suggesting that — in exchange for his vote — Windle could be promoted to the rank of general in the Tennessee National Guard.
Windle, an Iraq war veteran who was a colonel in the Guard, refused to switch his vote, saying in a statement that his vote was “not for sale.”
Other lawmakers told NewsChannel 5 Investigates about talk of incentives and even threats.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Rep. John Mark Windle, D-Livingston, confirmed information obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates that another lawmaker had overheard Casada suggesting that — in exchange for his vote — Windle could be promoted to the rank of general in the Tennessee National Guard.” this has happened before; it is common practice… exchange of favors was always accepted as part of the system… the “Clubbiness” is the key ….
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Clubbiness = corruption. When corruption isn’t punished and the rule of law breaks down for elites, we loose our democracy.
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I would think the conductor of the orchestra, the Governor, is also invited to appear in court.
“managed to pass Lee’s plan to create a school voucher program, known as Educational Savings Accounts, to pay for private school tuition in Davidson and Shelby counties.”
It’s weird how these politicians always target democratic strongholds like Davidson (=Nashville) and Shelby (=Memphis) counties with their voucher plans. It even happens that a conservative politician votes for the plan after being promised that his district will not get targeted by school vouchers.
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Shows how much demand there is for vouchers.
Not in my district!
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Weird?
Not really.
Shelby County (Memphis):
White alone, percent… 40.9%
Black or African American alone… 54.3%
Davidson County (Nashville):
White alone… 65.5%
Black or African American alone… 27.4%
In contrast:
Hamilton County (Chattanooga):
White alone… 75.9%
Black or African American alone… 19.3
I attended the inaugural meeting of Pastors for Tennessee Children, Hamilton County, about three years ago. I can only imagine how livid PTC is with their state’s legislators.
And it’s all so obviously driven by “insidiously wicked competitive ways of thinking (mental models) that rationalize human differences as significant, so as to produce structures (system structures) for behaving (systemic patterns of behavior) with the aim to win and make others losers (surface-level events).”
Probably the way it’s sold in Shelby and Davidson counties, Tennessee, is probably like the way it’s sold to Atlanta Black communities, very often by other folk who “look like them,” is, your “child” can get a “tuition free” “private education” just like White children get, if you would support creating charter schools for Black children because charter schools are public schools, too.
Few seem willing to counter this narrative (mental model), head on, which targets Black communities like Shelby and Davidson counties. So, the narrative persists as a mighty elephant in the room, and the best doorway to vouchers.
So, it’s not really weird.
(By the way, one of my most enjoyable and longest consulting engagements was in Chattanooga, with Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation of the Federal Executive Branch. Corporate HR’s employee hiring process was deemed less effective than desired. I was invited to help with improvement. Initial discussions with HR’s management made it very clear to me that HR management’s mental model for engaging employee candidates was the problem. But I couldn’t tell them that; they would immediately deny it and dismiss me. So, with their agreement, I set out to help them model their mental model, on paper, and then examine it. Six weeks into the effort, in a review and discussion meeting, the light bulb went on. “The problem is us!” a senior manager exclaimed. And that was the beginning of formulating a new mental model. It took time to get to that point.
Many fine folk in Chattanooga. And I really miss visiting The English Rose Tea Room, downtown.)
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Ed: the tea room closed down according to the web. You will have to come up to Tullahoma and join me at the Celtic Cup
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The English Rose closed? Bummer! Then I guess I’ll have to take up on your invite, Roy, after coronavirus is really done messing with us. Besides, Banana Bread Beer? Now, there’s an invitation to come try.
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cx: … take you up …
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Lee is 10 ft tall and bullet-proof. He has the Conferderate Jesus Brand.
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I’m surprised they had to do all this arm twisting and exchange of favors to have the voucher bill pass by only one vote.
If you read ed reformers, they all claim all parents are “clamoring” for vouchers to “flee” public schools because of course all private schools are vastly superior to any public school.
Is that not…true? The truth is they can barely get these laws passed? So maybe NOT as wildly popular as the entire echo chamber insist they are?
Shame Tennessee didn’t get anything productive or positive passed for public school students and families, but that’s ed reform. “The movement” returns little or no value to public school students or families.
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I think the key vote voted for vouchers if he got a commitment of no vouchers in his district. See how much demand there is?
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More excellent work from the “public education advocates” of ed reform:
“But last fall, Nystrom cut his fifth term short, joining an unprecedented number of Minnesota school board members — many of them living in rural areas — who have resigned prematurely since the start of 2021 in the face of harassment and threats from constituents they were elected to serve.
According to the Minnesota School Boards Association, during the 2020-21 school year and in the first two months of the current one, more than 86 of the state’s 2,200 elected district board members left their posts. So far in 2022, at least 26 have stepped down — six in the last month alone, with the two most recent resignations taking place Monday. In a typical year, 12 to 15 leave their seats before their terms are up.
While some resigned for a job or to run for another office, the number who have simply quit in frustration has mushroomed. Districts have seen multiple resignations — sometimes on the same day. Some of those who quit say they were under public pressure to disobey state and federal policies. Some left because their positions became untenable when their board allies resigned.”
Nothing positive or productive for public school families. Just politics, division and anti-public school political campaigns. Shame all these public school students got dragged into an ideological campaign to abolish public schools.
https://www.the74million.org/article/minnesota-school-board-members-quit-threats-trolls-hate/
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Nothing positive or productive is on the agenda of the funders who are fomenting these and other attacks on school boards. Nancy McLean just did a presentation on the right’s assault on bedrock government institutions and the danger it presents to the future of democracy. Check it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m26Gp0DzO-w&list=PLn2k75IdeMcDOyfqafZ_y2jYExCyu165m&index=1
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The title of McLean’s of the presentation “The Pre-History—and Likely Sequels—of the Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol” Presented at The National Humanities Center.
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Well, since the FBI was behind January 6 and the recent shooting in Buffalo, this is obviously just a witch hunt orchestrated by George Soros until he finds the next false flag operation to bankroll. (Sarcasm alert before some of you 🤯.)
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Greg, watch Nancy McLean’s talk – she covers the deliberate and calculated use of disinformation by a “suited circle of elites”. She also covers the meaning behind recent attacks on school boards and local voting agencies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m26Gp0DzO-w&list=PLn2k75IdeMcDOyfqafZ_y2jYExCyu165m&index=1
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Started watching, will save for weekend. Thanks for sharing. In her intro, she lays out the case some of us have been making here since 2016.
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Your summer beach read: Democracy in Chains by Nancy McLean
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I woke up this morning to a pile of dishes in my sink! Not sure whether George Soros or CRT is responsible, but I am demanding that the Department of Justice conduct an investigation into this!
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Bob,
I can already tell you that any investigation that does not “prove” that George Soros or CRT or the Democrats are responsible will be a sham investigation.
I can already tell you that any investigation that even hints that Republicans bear some responsibility will be a sham investigation.
Is there really any need to spend money on this investigation when we already know that Soros, CRT and the Democrats all share responsibility?
Can’t that money be better spent solving homelessness, like the Republicans want?
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