Better Spending, Better Schools
Helping Tennessee Students Succeed
What’s This Campaign About?
TennesseeCAN’s Better Spending, Better Schools campaign wants to make sure the money we spend on schools helps students learn more and do better. We’re working across the state to make school spending clear, smart and focused on what works.
What’s the Problem?
Tennessee’s schools got a lot of new money from the state and from the federal government during COVID. But now, federal help is ending, and it’s hard to see how school districts are spending their money—or if it’s really helping kids.
We don’t have clear answers to questions like:
Problem #1
How much money was spent on tutoring?
Problem #2
Did students learn more because of it?
Problem #3
Are we spending money the right way?
What Are We Doing?
TennesseeCAN will convene a diverse coalition of parents, school board members, educators, and advocates to:
- Develop a common framework for high-quality, student-focused financial transparency under TISA to help support strong spending decisions at the local level
- Train and support newly elected school board members, especially in Nashville, to navigate education budgeting with a focus on effectiveness and outcomes
- Build and deploy advocacy tools and scorecards that help community leaders and the public track and evaluate spending decisions that drive student achievement
What’s the Goal?
- Save and grow programs that help kids learn more
- Give local leaders tools to spend money wisely
- Track what schools spend—and how students benefit
- Use facts to shape smarter laws in 2026
Why Act Now?
The state just shared its first report on school spending—and it didn’t show anything new. We need better information fast, before more money is spent without helping students.
If the state doesn’t fix it, we’ll take this issue to lawmakers in 2026.
Our Big Dream for 2027
By 2027, we want Tennessee to be a national leader in how we spend money on schools. Our tools and scorecards will help everyone—from parents to lawmakers—see what’s working and what’s not. That way, we can keep doing more of what helps students grow.
Join us and get involved
If your organization would like to join this coalition of parents, teachers, school board members, and community leaders, please provide your information below. We’ll be in contact and keep you informed about how you can help.