I reported earlier this week that the State Board of Education increased both the minimum base salary and the salary matrix at each step by four percent. I noted then that this would require salary increases for teachers in 46 districts across the state.
Here’s the list of the districts where the salary schedule increase will mean a mandatory raise for teachers:
Cannon Hollow Rock
West Carroll Carter
Claiborne Clay
Cocke Crockett
Alamo Cumberland
Decatur Dekalb
Dickson Fayette
Fentress Humboldt
Milan Bradford
Grainger Grundy
Hancock Hardin
Hawkins Haywood
Hickman Humphreys
Jackson Johnson County
Lake McNairy
Monroe Morgan
Overton Perry
Pickett Rhea
Scott Oneida
Sequatchie Smith
Sullivan Unicoi
Union Van Buren
Wayne Weakley
Here’s a link to the new minimum salary schedule.
The new minimum base pay for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and no experience is $33,745 and the new minimum for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and more than 10 years experience is $40,595.
Yes, these numbers are pretty low. So, it’s unfortunate that 46 districts are being forced to raise pay based on the schedule adjustment. But, these are largely rural districts that are heavily dependent on state funding to run their systems.
The action of the SBE this week is a welcome change from the past few years when they increased the salary schedule by only a fraction of the new money allocated for teacher compensation through the BEP. If this trend continues, Tennessee may well become the fastest-improving state in teacher compensation.
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