AUTIN
AUTIN NEWS. THIS IS INSIDE TENNESSEE. GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO
INSIDE TENNESSEE.
I'M YOUR MODERATOR JOHN BECKER
FRESH OFF HIS THIRD STATE OF
THE STATE, WE HAVE THE MOST
POWERFUL POLITICIAN IN THE
STATE OF TENNESSEE WITH THIS
MORNING TENNESSEE GOVERNOR BILL
LEE.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU
WITH US, SIR.
OUR REGULAR PANELIST DON BOSCH
WHO RUNS HIS OWN LAW FIRM.
HE'S A DEMOCRAT SUSAN
RICHARDSON WILLIAMS RUNS HER
OWN PR FIRM.
SHE IS REPUBLICAN.
WE WELCOME THEM AS WELL.
LET ME START WITH THIS,
GOVERNOR.
WE HAVE THE BENEFIT OF
HINDSIGHT.
WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT YOUR
STATE OF THE STATE MESSAGE AND
SPECIFICS IN IT THAT YOU HOPE
TO SEE IN THIS NEXT BUDGET YEAR
.
BUT LET'S START WITH THIS
LOOKING BACK ON ALMOST A YEAR
INTO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, IS
THERE A SPECIFIC POLICY THAT
YOU WISH YOU WOULD HAVE WRITTEN
OR CHANGED THAT MIGHT HAVE
SAVED THE LIVES OF MORE
TENNESSEANS OR SAVED THE LIVES
OF MORE TENNESSEE BUSINESSES >>
AND FOR HAVING >> ME ON EXCITED
TO BE BACK ON WITH THIS WITH
THIS GROUP AGAIN CERTAINLY HAS
BEEN AN INCREDIBLE YEAR FOR OUR
STATE AND FOR OUR COUNTRY AND
WE FACED CHALLENGES THAT A YEAR
AGO WE DID WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT
CUMMING'S TORNADOES THAT WERE
DEVASTATING THAT TORE THROUGH
REALLY ACROSS MOST PARTS OF OUR
STATE AND THEN JUST A FEW DAYS
AFTER OUR FIRST COVID CASE >>
FOLLOWED BY FLOODING FOLLOWED
BY CIVIL UNREST THAT MOST
DRAMATIC >> ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
IN THE COUNTRY'S HISTORY AND
THIS GLOBAL PANDEMIC THAT HAS
REALLY CHANGED THE COURSE OF
THIS COUNTRY OVER THE LAST
SEVERAL MONTHS.
SO IT WAS A YEAR THAT NO ONE
SAW COMING.
IT CERTAINLY HAS BEEN A
CHALLENGE BUT YOU TALKED A
LITTLE BIT ABOUT LIVES AND
LIVELIHOODS AND THAT HAS BEEN
OUR FOCUS FROM THE BEGINNING.
HOW DO WE PROTECT THE LIVES OF
TENNESSEANS AND AT THE SAME
TIME PROTECT THE LIVELIHOODS
AND A WAY OF LIFE FOR TENNESSEE
?
AND YOU ASKED ABOUT SPECIFIC
POLICIES WE WOULD DO
DIFFERENTLY?
YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SAY THAT WE
WOULD DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
I WOULD JUST SAY THAT WE
APPROACH THINGS AS THEY CAME AT
US AND WE KNOW A WHOLE LOT MORE
TODAY THAN WE KNEW 10, 11, 12
MONTHS AGO ABOUT COVID-19 WE
KNOW A WHOLE LOT MORE TODAY
ABOUT >> THE >> EFFECTS OF THAT
ON OUR ECONOMY.
WE KNOW WHAT THE DIFFERENT
APPROACHES WERE LIKE ACROSS THE
STATE, THE STATES, DIFFERENT
STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND
THE MPACTS THOSE HAD I'M VERY
LET ME JUST SAY OUR OUR
APPROACH YOU KNOW, I'M AN
ENGINEER AND HAVE AN
ENGINEERING BACKGROUND DATA HAS
ALWAYS BEEN A VERY IMPORTANT
PART OF MY LIFE >>.
DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS ARE WHAT
DETERMINED THE POLICIES THAT WE
IMPLEMENTED GOING FORWARD AND
ANYWHERE FROM TESTING TO OUR
APPROACHES ON ECONOMIC RECOVERY
NOW ON VACCINATION.
SO I'M PLEASED WITH THE
APPROACH WE TOOK AS TRAGIC AS
THIS HAS BEEN FOR OUR COUNTRY
AND FOR OUR STATE, I BELIEVE
THAT WE'VE NAVIGATED THROUGH IT
IN A WAY THAT REALLY HELD THAT
CHALLENGE OF LIVES AND
LIVELIHOODS AND ONE IN EACH
HAND.
AND I'M I'M PLEASED WITH WHERE
WE ARE AND THE PANDEMIC AND
WITH WHERE WE ARE IN OUR
ECONOMY.
ANOTHER >> QUICK BIG PICTURE
QUESTION AND SUSAN, YOU CAN
JUMP IN BUT GOVERNOR THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
SAID THIS WEEK THAT ANY
AMERICAN WHO WANTS A VACCINE
SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET ONE BY
JULY.
DO YOU AGREE WITH PRESIDENT
BIDEN IN THAT ASSESSMENT OF HOW
QUICKLY WE'LL SEE THE VACCINES
ROLL OUT TO MORE AMERICANS?
I'M >> VERY ENCOURAGED WITH
WHERE WE ARE IN VACCINE
DISTRIBUTION, CERTAINLY NOT
JUST OUR STATES
WHICH
WHICH HAS
WHICH HAS BEEN WHICH HAS BEEN WIDELY VIEWED AS A VERY STRONG PLAN.
BUT I SPOKE WITH THE PRESIDENT
YESTERDAY AND AND I'VE ALSO
SPOKEN IN THE LAST COUPLE OF
WEEKS WITH THE CEO OF PFIZER
WITH EXECUTIVES FROM JAY AND
JAY AND I DO BELIEVE THAT WE
ARE SOON WITHIN JUST A FEW
WEEKS WE'RE GOING TO SEE A REAL
RAMP UP IN THE NUMBER OF
VACCINES.
I THINK THAT IN A MATTER OF
JUST A COUPLE OF MONTHS THE
VAST MAJORITY OF TENNESSEANS
WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE
VACCINATED.
SO I DO AGREE WITH THAT.
I THINK THAT WE'RE WELL ON OUR
WAY TO HAVE VACCINES AVAILABLE
TO TO ALL OF AMERICA IN JUST A
FEW MONTHS SUSAN.
>> YEAH.
LET'S TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
YOUR STATE OF THE STATE AND THE
BUDGET THAT YOU ANNOUNCED
EDUCATION IS CERTAINLY ONE OF
YOUR PRIORITIES AND A NEED IN
THIS STATE IN EVERY STATE AFTER
WE'VE ALL HAD TO GO TO VIRTUAL
LEARNING AND BEING CONCERNED
ABOUT LEARNING LOSS FROM OUR
KIDS.
THERE IS A SPECIAL SESSION ON
EDUCATION AND I KNOW THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY PUT ONE
HUNDRED AND SIXTY MILLION OR SO
IN FOR EDUCATION AND INCUE AND
ASKED AN ADDITIONAL THREE
HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE MILLION
FOR K THROUGH 12 AND SO FORTH.
COULD YOU TALK ABOUT THAT AND
DO YOU FEEL CONFIDENT WITH THAT
ADDITIONAL MONEY THAT WE'RE
GOING TO GET BACK TO SOME
NORMALCY NEXT YEAR?
YOU KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS WE
KNOW AGAIN BY FOLLOWING DATA IS
THAT THERE'S A TREMENDOUS
AMOUNT OF LEARNING LOSS THAT
HAPPENS WHEN KIDS AREN'T IN THE
CLASSROOM >>.
WE >> KNOW THAT INTUITIVELY.
BUT THEN WE STARTED LOOKING AT
THE DATA AS MUCH AS 50 PERCENT
LEARNING LOSS IN THIRD GRADERS
HAS OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE
TIME AWAY FROM THE CLASSROOM
LAST SPRING.
THAT'S WHY WE WORKED SO HARD TO
GET IN-PERSON LEARNING ACROSS
THIS STATE AND BY THE WAY, BOB
THOMAS KNOX COUNTY HAS DONE AN
INCREDIBLE JOB OF HAVING
IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION FOR
STUDENTS FOR THE MOST PART
THROUGHOUT THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
IT'S HAPPENED IN ALL BUT TWO OF
OUR DISTRICTS ACROSS THE STATE
AND NOW BOTH OF THOSE DISTRICTS
WON.
DAVISON COUNTY IS IS BACK IN
PERSON.
SHELBY COUNTY HAS A PLAN TO GET
THERE SOON.
WE WE PUSHED HARD AND
RIGHTFULLY SO AND THE SCIENCE
HAS PROVEN THAT NOW THAT WAS
THE RIGHT THING FOR KIDS TO BE
IN THE CLASSROOM.
WE CALLED A SPECIAL SESSION
CALLED A SPECIAL SESSION
BECAUSE OF THE URGENCY OF THIS
ISSUE.
I DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT FOR THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S REGULAR
SESSION TO END IN ORDER TO
IMPLEMENT SOME OF THE THINGS WE
NEEDED TO DO.
SO WE CALLED A SPECIAL SESSION
.
WE ADDRESSED LITERACY IN
PARTICULAR WITH A SIGNIFICANT
INVESTMENT IN LITERACY PROGRAMS
.
WE WE ADDRESSED THE NEED >> FOR
SUPPOORT FOR STUDENTS >>
THROUGH TUTORING PROGRAMS,
SETTING UP SUMMER CAMP
PROGRAMS, BRIDGE LEARNING LOSS
PROGRAMS, SUPPORTS FOR TEACHERS
,SUPPORTS FOR PARENTS ACTULLY
TO SCREEN CHILDREN TO
UNDERSTAND THE LOSS THAT'S
OCCURRED INDIVIDUALLY FOR THEIR
KIDS.
WE MADE A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS
INCLUDING PROTECTING AND
INCREASING TEACHER PAY AND
HOLDING DISTRICTS HARMLESS AND
TEACHERS HARMLESS FOR FOR
ASSESSMENTS ON STUDENT STUDENT
TESTING WHICH NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
BUT >> BUT WE BROUGHT FORTH A
NUMBER OF PIECES OF LEGISLATION
THAT WOULD BEGIN RIGHT NOW SO
THAT OUR KIDS WOULD WE WOULD
START TO FILL IN THAT GAP.
I AM ENCOURAGED WITH WHERE
WE'RE HEADED.
THERE WAS THERE WAS A LOT OF
LEARNING LOSS BUT WE'RE ONE OF
THE FIRST STATES IN THE COUNTRY
TO HAVE ALREADY ADDRESSED THAT
LEARNING LOSS THROUGH THIS
LEGISLATION THAT'S ALREADY BEEN
PASSED AND IS NOW BEING
IMPLEMENTED THROUGH THE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
OUR KIDS EDUCATIONAL FUTURE IS
THE FUTURE OF TENNESSEE.
THAT'S WHY EDUCATION'S BEEN
VERY IMPORTANT TO ME FROM THE
DAY I CAME TO OFFICE WE HAD A
GOVERNOR BEFORE ME THAT WAS
VERY COMMITTED TO IMPROVEMENT
IN EDUCATION ACROSS THIS ACROSS
THE STATE GOVERNOR HAS BROUGHT
ABOUT SOME GREAT REFORMS AND WE
DON'T WANT TO WE DON'T WANT TO
BACKTRACK ON ANY OF THAT WORK.
SO WHAT WE'RE DOING I THINK IS