Lawmakers mull compromise over TSU board
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Senate Republicans introduced and pushed a bill earlier this month to vacate the majority of Tennessee State University’s (TSU’s) Board of Trustees and replace them with governor appointees.
They argue the board has faced a slew of financial problems and made little or no attempt to fix them.
“The old members seem to relinquish their authority to the president, which is something the board should never do,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said.
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But House Republicans seem a little more flexible, signaling wiggle room in what was otherwise thought to be an open-and-shut case. However, they admit, the issues plaguing TSU concern them, too.
“In recent years, there’ve been some issues there. There’ve been some mismanagement, there’s been some issues that need to be addressed to make sure that their students are successful,” House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) said. “That’s the same thing we want for every single university.”
TSU advocates and Democrats have decried the move as racist, arguing the state has underfunded the university to hundreds of millions—or billions, depending on who you ask—of dollars over the past few decades.
“It really is overreaching, it sends a terrible message publicly. I’ve received text messages and emails and calls from friends across the country because the news went Twitter-viral again,” Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) said. “They said, ‘Why are y’all still doing this?’”
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Still, the situation is fluid.
“Yes, obviously there are discussions going on behind the scenes hoping to get to a resolution – certainly one that doesn’t involve legislation,” Akbari said.
There’s a proposal House members are floating to potentially only vacate a few or half of the board members, instead of the entire thing.
“I’m glad that our committees are looking at this,” Lamberth said. “What I encourage all of our committees to do is look at every single university. Look at every single college within this state.”
The move also signals a bit of dysfunction between Senate and House Republicans, a theme that started with last year’s special session on public safety and has carried into this year with education.
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“There’s members of the House who, I’m assuming, are working with them, as well, and members of the Senate,” Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said. “If there is a compromise, I’m sure we’ll hear about it. I’m not directly involved in it.”
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