DATELINE: WILLIAMSON COUNTY — THE COST OF SUCCESS

Originally posted May 5, 2025

Why State Education Funding Leaves Williamson County Behind

Last week in The Dump, we flagged a quiet but brutal truth: Tennessee’s school funding formula is kneecapping Williamson County.

It’s called TISA—the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act. Passed in 2022 to replace the old Basic Education Program (BEP), TISA was sold as a simpler, student-focused model.

The reality? It’s a formula that penalizes fast-growing, high-performing, high-cost-of-living counties like ours—and props up the ones doing less with more. TISA pretends to be fair while quietly siphoning resources from the very districts that keep the system afloat.

Let’s break it down.

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THEY THINK WE’RE RICH. SO THEY CUT THE CHECK SHORT.

At the heart of TISA is “fiscal capacity”—a state estimate of what each county could spend on education, regardless of what it actually does.

If the state thinks you can afford more, they give you less.

The math:

• Williamson’s current property tax rate: $1.88, dropping to $1.34 after reassessment

• Davidson (Nashville): $2.92

• Shelby (Memphis): $3.39

• State average: ~$2.00

Despite our lower rate, Williamson funds nearly 65% of its schools locally—almost double the state average. The state covers just 32%, and falling.

And no, TISA doesn’t reward effort. It assumes we’re lazy, then cuts the check.

Even worse? It barely accounts for cost of living.

Teachers here pay Brentwood rent. They buy Franklin groceries. They fill up in Cool Springs. But the state treats us like we’re living in a county where the median rent wouldn’t get you a storage closet here.

We’re being punished for efficiency. Penalized for performance. And overcharged for being responsible.

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WHO PAYS THE PRICE?

Spoiler: not the state.

It’s our teachers, checking Zillow like it’s a horror film. Many can’t live in the county they serve.

It’s our staff, juggling weekend gigs just to make ends meet. Late bus? Here’s your short answer: funding.

It’s parents, drafted into never-ending bake sales, fund drives and budget battles.

And it’s kids, told they’re lucky to be here—right before their teacher takes a job in a district that actually pays for one.

This isn’t theoretical. It’s personal.

Schools don’t run on gratitude and good intentions. They run on people—great ones—who are being priced out of the very community they serve.

The reward for running a successful district? Do it alone.

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GROWTH DOESN’T HELP—IT HURTS

Williamson has added students every year for two decades. More students should equal more funding, right?

Not under TISA.

There’s a “fast-growth” grant—but it only kicks in with sudden spikes. Our steady, sustained growth doesn’t qualify.

So the more responsibly we grow, the harder it gets to fund what we’ve built.

We plan. We build. We staff.

The state? It applauds politely—and cuts the check shorter.

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THIS ISN’T JUST A SCHOOL PROBLEM. IT’S A COMMUNITY THREAT.

Strong schools do more than educate—they stabilize property values, attract families, support business, and strengthen neighborhoods.

Undermine that, and everything else cracks.

When teachers leave, families follow. When costs rise but support doesn’t, performance slips. When excellence becomes unaffordable, mediocrity becomes policy.

TISA isn’t just short-changing schools. It’s threatening the foundation of one of Tennessee’s best-run counties.

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WE’RE THE DONOR DISTRICT—AND EVERYONE ELSE LIKES IT THAT WAY

This isn’t an accident. The legislature knows what TISA does—and who pays the bill.

Rural counties with low tax bases? Getting topped off.

Urban districts with declining enrollment? Also getting topped off.

Williamson County? Told to fund more and smile through it.

We pay more. We get less. And we’re told we’re lucky.

We don’t qualify for relief. We get no cost-of-living adjustment.

And we sure don’t get credit for leading the state.

Instead, they hand us the same assumptions they’d use for a county with a Dollar General and a volunteer fire department—and call it even.

We are the donor district. And they’re betting we’ll stay quiet.

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TISA IS BROKEN.

This isn’t a call for special treatment. It’s a call for basic fairness.

A funding model that reflects real cost of living

A formula that rewards growth, not punishes it

A system that respects high-performing communities instead of punishing them for being functional

Williamson County is doing its part. The state isn’t.

Fix the formula. Fix the numbers. Fix TISA—before our own hard-earned success becomes unaffordable.

EDIT: So what do we do? Please share your ideas in the comments.