by karen wieckert | Feb 4, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Robin Nobling, Executive Director of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Davidson County and Michael Randolph, a mental health care professional working with Partners in Care.
The two gave an excellent presentation on the Partners in Care pilot program launched in June 2021 in Nashville’s North and Hermitage precincts, two precincts with a higher volume of mental health-related calls for service.
by karen wieckert | Jan 4, 2022 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Stewart Clifton, LWV-TN Lobbyist.
by karen wieckert | Dec 3, 2021 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Terrie Moore, from the Thistle Farms/Magdalene program.
Terrie presented her moving story of adversity and resilience, as well as the support she received from Thistle Farms.
Thistle Farms is a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to helping women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction.
Please consider helping out by considering purchasing one of their lovingly crafted products, found at their store on Charlotte Avenue in Nashville or online at Thistle Farms
by karen wieckert | Nov 5, 2021 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Jenn Harrman, Zero Waste Program Manager, Metro Water Services Division of Waste Services
Ms. Harrman explained what Zero Waste means, minimizing the waste we generate and maximizing the diversion of materials from landfills through sustainable solid waste management practices. This is a most important issue for us as we are running out of places to “ditch” our trash. With a Zero Waste mindset, we can transition from a linear economy that focuses on the start and end of a product’s life, to a circular economy that captures and reincorporates materials.
The Zero Waste Plan for Nashville has the following goals:
Reach zero waste, defined as diverting 90% of Nashville waste away from
landfills.
Increase recycling, food waste reduction and recovery, and composting
throughout Davidson County.
Adopt recycling and recovery programs targeted towards the construction
and demolition waste stream.
Strengthen public education programs to help Nashvillians refuse, reduce,
reuse, recycle and compost.
For more information: Metro Waste Services
by karen wieckert | Oct 1, 2021 | Hot Topics
Speakers: Learotha Williams , PhD., and Amie Thurber, Ph.D.
They engaged us with wonderful stories that form the basis of their book, “I’ll Take You There, Exploring Nashville’s Social Justice Sites” (available here). They, and some of their students, interviewed folks who lived where much of the Civil Rights Era work took place. Engaging ordinary folks, inquiring about what they had seen during that period, the writers discovered a plethora of information from oral history perspectives that added dimension and salience to the sites listed in their book.
The book offers a social justice tour guide covering sites from the Civil War onward, reflecting Nashville as a place where we, the citizens, can and do move forward re-imagining what and who Nashville is.
by karen wieckert | Sep 3, 2021 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Dr. Garrett Harper, Nashville Metropolitan Social Services
Dr. Harper presented the challenges from 2020, a difficult year for Nashvillians, the pressing issues Nashville faces currently, and the city’s focus for the future. Much of the talk presented data from pre and post pandemic Nashville. Prior to the pandemic, the poverty rate was falling, inequality was declining, and unemployment was low. Unfortunately, the pandemic reversed many of those trends. For example, almost 40,000 full time workers earn less than $12/hour and one in ten Nashvillians lack health insurance. Depending upon the geographic neighborhood and/or demographic category, the needs of our fellow Nashvillians can be considerable.
The presentation included detailed data on persistent, structural poverty in Nashville and Davidson County. To address poverty and well being, Dr. Harper suggested the importance of a unified effort based on an understanding of the issues. He also stressed the importance of
community wide efforts that are sustained over time and designed to align the priorities of community and economic well being. The Metropolitan Social Services office expects to continue its focus on local action based on proven results, including possibly instituting a Wellbeing Cabinet.
For more information: Metropolitan Social Services
by karen wieckert | Aug 6, 2021 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Dr. Dr. Alex Jahangir, orthopedic trauma surgeon, Director of the Division of Orthopedic Trauma at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Chair of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and chair of the Metropolitan Nashville Coronavirus Taskforce.
As Chair of the Metropolitan Board of Health of Nashville and chair of the Metropolitan Nashville
Coronavirus Taskforce, Dr. Jahangir led the response to the Covid-19 pandemic for Nashville including the development and implementation of policies that have mitigated the spread of the virus in Nashville, increased access to testing and vaccination for all in our community, established a robust public health infrastructure, and served as a principal source of information to the public regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.
by karen wieckert | Jun 4, 2021 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Katie Cour, President and CEO of the Nashville Public Foundation
Ms. Cour addressed the League about the Foundation’s efforts to raise awareness about problems with state support of public schools. The Basic Education Program (BEP) is Tennessee’s formula used to allocate state dollars to local school systems. Developed in response to a 1988 lawsuit waged against the state government by 88 rural school systems, the BEP was created to improve the equity of funding for all school systems.
In recent years, however, the formula has come under fire for providing too little funding to schools generally, particularly those in the state’s urban systems. The BEP has four basic components: Instructional Salaries and Wages, Instructional Benefits, Classroom Components, and Non-Classroom Components. Within these larger categories are many smaller ones, such as teachers, principals, assistant principals, school nurses, counselors as well as instructional supplies. As state officials are quick to point out, however, the BEP is a funding formula not a spending plan. This means that the formula generates certain amounts of money, but the local governments have some discretion in how it’s actually spent. In addition to state funding, state law requires local governments to contribute to public school funding; the required amounts vary according to each local government’s ability to pay. Overall, the state funds about 66% of the BEP’s total, and local governments fund about 33%. Because Nashville can raise more revenue than most other counties, however, it’s also expected to contribute more to its schools. At the same time, many
of Metro’s students are more expensive to educate than students in other places, because of a higher number of economically disadvantaged, non-English-speaking children and special education students. Consequently, Metro receives less state revenue, but must spend more than many other systems to educate its students.
Ms. Cour pointed out some of the BEP’s flaws particularly as they impact Metro Schools:
The formula consistently underestimates the resources needed to run a school. For example, the actual number of personnel generated by the formula is about 11,000 positions less than what schools actually have. Nurses and Assistant Principals are particularly underfunded.
The salary amount used in the formula is a state average. Because the cost of living in Nashville is so much higher than in other parts of the state, the local government must contribute much larger amounts to hire teachers than other places. Metro pays $21,000,000 for teachers’ salaries over what the BEP generates.
Overall, the BEP formula generates per pupil funding that is less than most other states; Tennessee ranks 44 th in the nation. The Education Law Center gives Tennessee an “F” in funding efforts for the percentage of GDP invested in education.
So what does the Nashville Public Education Foundation recommend that the state do to address these funding challenges?
Adopt the recommendations of the BEP Review Committee, an advisory body of educational professionals and state officials. Each year the committee makes suggestions to improve the funding formula, but the General Assembly rarely adopts them.
Migrate to a student-driven formula with an appropriate base, with weights added for more expensive students.
Increase funding generally. Possible sources include limiting present exemptions to the sales tax, as well as drawing from the increased revenues now collected from taxes on internet sales.
The BEP was a major component of the Education Improvement Act, a wide-ranging piece of legislation passed in 1992 after two years of intense discussion by the General Assembly. Perhaps it’s time to focus on Tennessee’s children and their educational needs once more. The Foundation will rolling out additional materials later this summer to raise awareness about this issue
by karen wieckert | May 7, 2021 | Hot Topics
Speaker: Debby Gould, LWVTN President
Debby Gould, incoming LWVTN President, gave an informative introductory presentation on the redistricting process nationally, with specifics relevant to Tennessee. This is part of the LWVUS outreach program called People PoweredFair Maps.
Background: Redistricting happens every ten years. The purpose is threefold:
- To define boundaries for political districts, from school boards to the US Congress
- To calculate the number of people to be reapportioned per district
- To guide distribution of Federal dollars — upwards of $500 billion — to districts.
Every ten years, a constitutionally-mandated national census is conducted, census data are sent to the states, states review that data, and draw maps. Maps are submitted for approval, and new maps are implemented to govern voting for the next decade.
Ideally, redistricting should be non-partisan and focus on providing appropriate representation for the people of various states and districts. However, the process is rarely smooth or nonpartisan. One historical concern is gerrymandering, named for an 1812 district boundary resembling a salamander created by Governor Gerry of Massachusetts. Although this happened long ago, many states still continue to draw odd-shaped districts. Gerrymandered districts often favor one political party, intentionally minimize the influence of marginal/minority interests, and favor incumbents going forward for the coming decade.
Tools used to gerrymander are called packing and cracking. Packing concentrates political interests into single districts in order to create large political majorities. Cracking spreads marginal or minority political interests across districts to dilute their influence in representing the district as a whole. The Supreme Court’s historic modification of the Voting Rights Act in 2013 regarding pre-clearance, as well as numerous cases afterwards regarding gerrymandering, allowed redistricting for partisan ends but not explicit racial categorization of district populations. Now, with standards relaxed, every state is allowed to set its own redistricting process.
States have varying redistricting laws, including:
- Requiring public meetings for community input (currently mandated in 33 states)
- Requiring public hearings on redistricting (26 states)
- Drafting maps for analysis (33 states)
- Requiring the redistricting process to be nonpartisan (a handful of states).
Specifics in Tennessee
In Tennessee, the State Legislature draws districts. After receiving federal apportionment data from the census, they then draw geographic lines for 9 US Congress, 99 State House, and 33 State Senate seats. Federal laws require that districts be approximately equal in population and that racial voting strength not be intentionally diluted. Tennessee state law requires districts to be connected and compact, and the Governor can veto the final maps. Because populations change, maps change. For example, in Tennessee in the upcoming redistricting process, congressional districts will cover approximately 767,871 people, 62,000 more than currently represented, which will mean increases and/or changes relevant to state house and senate districts as well.
Generally, LWVTN and other affiliated groups support redistricting maps that avoid oddly-shaped districts, keep city/county boundaries within districts, keep communities of interest (groups that share economic and/or social interests) within districts, and create competitive, not packed districts.
