(Bartlett, TN) The Shelby County Education Association’s phones have been ringing off the hook from concerned teachers who say they schedule their bills to be paid around their pay periods and with just a little over a months’ notice until a major change to their pay schedule simply isn’t fair.
“Single parents with one income… It’s going to be a burden on them,” said Shelby County Education Association Sammy Job.
Job is upset current Shelby County School employees won’t get paid August 2nd like normal meaning they will go from July 19th to August 16th without a check.
“Give the teachers a chance to wait a year and do this and I think that would satisfy people,” said Job.
The district is making the change to make sure everyone gets paid at the same time when city and county schools merge.
Right now, the teacher’s only option is having money withheld from their next two paychecks and getting that money August 2nd.
Interim Superintendent Dorsey Hopson takes the blame saying this issue should have been decided months ago.
“What is also not right is to put people in a bad situation without a lot of notice so we’re going to work on that,” said Hopson.
The district will do this while it also works on several other policies, including corporal punishment, and it’s just 13 days until the merger.
The district says it worked through the weekend to come up with other options, and they hope to have those ready to present to the school board at its Tuesday meeting at 5:30 at the Teaching and Learning Academy.
