NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is acknowledging that teachers may not get big pay raises, even with the Republican’s proposal to boost teacher salaries by $117 million.
Finance and Administration Commissioner Stuart McWhorter told lawmakers Tuesday that it was Lee’s “intent” for teachers to receive a 4% raise. However, due to the state’s complicated school funding formula, teachers could see a lower compensation hike.
Last year, the Department of Education was tasked by the Legislature to study teacher pay raises under the funding formula and will be releasing that report this fall.
Lee’s proposal was made during his State of the State address on Monday.
“Make no mistake: We’ll do whatever it takes to make Tennessee the best state in the country to be a student, and that means making Tennessee the best state in America to be a teacher,” Lee said.
Under Lee’s proposed teacher pay plan, the starting minimum annual salary for teachers would increase from $36,000 to $40,000 over the next two years.
“Our moonshot is that people are moving to Tennessee not because their spouses or partners got jobs at Amazon, or with a law firm, or whatever else, but that people are moving to Tennessee because they can think of no better place to become a teacher and remain a teacher in this country,” Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said.
The teacher pay proposal is part of several large education measures Lee is hoping to pass inside the GOP-dominant Statehouse during an election year.
Schwinn detailed proposals to train more Tennessee teachers, help cover their cost of schooling and offer them paid work under mentor teachers while they’re still in school; encourage teachers to stay in classroom positions through higher paid senior specialty categories; and offer coursework in high school that focuses on teaching as a profession.
However, education advocates caution that even with a $117 million boost, it may not be enough to help teacher salaries.
“While that is a large yearly increase, it breaks down to about $1,450 per teacher, or approximately $28 a week,” said Beth Brown, president of the Tennessee Education Association, when talking about the state’s approximately 80,000 instructional staffers.
Democratic lawmakers also pushed back against Lee’s announcement.
“The reality is, what was announced tonight is an early and modest step on a long road to doing right by our schools,” said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, a Nashville Democrat. “It’s only a record-setting investment because Tennessee has a really bad record when it comes to funding education.”
Lee said he wants to allocate approximately $70 million on improving school literacy rates by investing in elementary teacher training and coaching, and instructional materials.
He also announced a proposal to put $250 million into an trust fund dedicated to mental health in K-12 schools. The state would first assess each districts’ needs before deciding how to spend it.
The total budget plan under the governor’s spending plan would be $40.8 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2020-21 — which begins in July — or about 3.7% more than the year before.
