The Wilson County Commission recently passed a budget that includes funds to build a new middle school and provides a pay raise for educators.

From the Tennessee Education Association:

Thanks to the efforts of the Wilson County Education Association, the Wilson County Commission passed a pay raise for educators and approved funds to build a new Gladeville middle school.

The approved raises include $1,000 dollars to teachers with one to five years of experience, $2,000 to teachers with six to 10, and $3,000 for teachers with 11+ years. The district is required to use the allocated money exclusively for teacher raises.

WCEA President Melissa Lynn and other WCEA members lead the push to get the increase passed, securing raises and construction funds to ease serious over-crowding issues.

WCEA President Lynn was given an opportunity to address the commission to make the case for teacher raises and new schools. Her remarks are included below.

Good evening. My name is Melissa Lynn. I am a mother, public school teacher and life-long resident of Wilson County.

Having raised a child on a teacher’s salary, I know how important every penny is to a family’s budget. So asking for a property tax increase is not something I take lightly. But as an educator, I know first-hand how critical this increase is for our students, our schools and the future of this community we all love. We simply cannot afford to not do this.

Wilson County is growing at an incredible rate. New homes and businesses are being built every day. If we want our community to continue to be a desirable place for families and businesses, we must have a strong system of public schools. A strong local economy is built upon a foundation of strong public schools – which requires investing our resources in updating facilities and attracting the best educators for our students.

Wilson County Schools are bursting at the seams with over-crowded classrooms and hallways. In order to keep class sizes down and keep our students safe on campus, we really need to build more schools. To date, the growth of our school system has not kept up with the growth of our community.

The second main concern in addition to over-crowded schools, is the county’s ability to attract and retain the most qualified and committed educators. It is our responsibility to our children to ensure every student has an excellent teacher in their classroom. We will not attract the best and brightest educators without competitive pay and benefits. While the county does a good job of providing quality benefits to those teachers who take advantage of the health insurance offered, a teacher cannot put food on her table or pay her bills with health insurance premiums.

Wilson County faces some stiff competition from other districts in Middle Tennessee who offer better salary and benefits packages AND better facilities for educators. Teachers who live here in Wilson County, and would prefer to work here, are choosing to work in other districts because of these things. We need to bring these educators home, and attract the best of the best from other districts, by offering a salary and benefits package that enables educators to provide for their families.

I know you share my belief that our kids deserve the very best. It is up to us now to step up and invest in the future success of our children and our community. That is why I am here tonight to ask that you please vote “YES” to approve the budget and proposed property tax increase before you.

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