Tennessee teacher shortage persists as pay remains low
While current reports suggest that the shortage of teachers in Tennessee is improving a bit, the reality is a significant number of classrooms will start the year without a full-time, permanent teacher.
Again.
NewsChannel5 reports on this year’s situation:
Tennessee is still facing a teacher shortage.
That means some classrooms may not have a teacher to start the school year. As of the middle of July, 875 positions still haven’t been filled.
In 2022, I tracked 1,000 teacher jobs still open. That number has decreased this year.
Pay increases seem to be helping. However, it should be noted the state can and should do more.
It’d be interesting to see what would happen if Tennessee moved starting teacher pay to $60,000 – a number we could afford and which would put the state at among the highest in teacher pay in the Southeast.
Tennessee policymakers have chosen instead to invest $500 million in a new Tennessee Titans stadium and to give out billions in corporate tax breaks.
In fact, before Bill Lee leaves office, his spending priorities could very well create a budget deficit.
