Friends of Metro Schools

Friends of Metro Schools is a coalition of community residents and organizations working to make education a top priority during the state and local budget process. 

Multiply our Friends of Metro Schools Membership!

Sign up your family, friends, co-workers, congregants and neighbors. Download a sign-up sheet and get everyone you know to become a Friend. Please return sheets by fax to 254.3766 or mail to 209 10th Avenue South, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37203.

Learn More About Local and State School Funding Issues

• Nashville City Paper, "Challenging School Budget Cycle May Be on Horizon"
• Tennessean,"Tennessee to get $118 million for special education"
• Nashville City Paper,"First Draft New School Budget Cuts 200 Positions"
• Nashville City Paper, "Bredesen: Budget cuts could be up to $500 million"
• Nashville City Paper, "Budget process lets Metro look more closely..."
• Tennessean, "Revenue in Tennessee may fall $800M"
• Tennessean, "Metro Schools cheers graduation rate jump"

Mayor Dean Proposed Tight But School-Friendly Budget

On Tuesday March 25, Mayor Karl Dean proposed a $1.576 million city budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year that begins on July 1. Mayor Dean characterized his proposal as a tight budget that prioritizes education and public safety without adding new taxes. Learn more.

About Us

Over the last year, Metro Nashville Public Schools have achieved significant improvements in school performance and graduation rates. However, an increasingly tight education budget puts these gains at risk. At a time when strong schools are more important than ever to our community’s health and prosperity, Nashville’s local school budget is becoming more difficult to fund. With the growing number of impoverished children in our school system we must ensure that our public schools have the resources they need to help all our children thrive.

Each year, mandatory costs rise, including a number of unfunded federal mandates. This means that the schools need additional funds just to maintain the current level of services they provide. To make sure Nashville students succeed, we need to provide them with smaller class sizes and to recruit, mentor, and retain highly qualified teachers. Friends of Metro Schools will ensure funding levels are adequate so that every child has access to a high quality public education. 

Join Friends of Metro Schools and receive regular updates and info about opportunities to influence the school budget.

Meet our Coalition Partners

Read Press Coverage

View our Timeline of Upcoming Events and Budget Meetings

Learn more about Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Contact Us at friends@stand.org.