Teacher Shortage Crisis Hits Tennessee

 For years, policy advocates and those paying attention have suggested a teacher shortage crisis was imminent. Instead of implementing strategies to attract teachers and keep them in the field, state policymakers have instead foisted more responsibility on already overwhelmed educators. Of course, these new responsibilities didn’t come with significant pay increases. In fact, teachers in Tennessee experience a significant pay gap compared to similarly educated peers in other professions.

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Pay Boost for Teachers Starts in January

Tena Lee in the Hendersonville Standard reports on the recently approved teacher pay raises that are now set to begin in January:

A $4,000 annual pay increase for all Sumner County teachers, principals and other certified employees will take effect in January following votes by the Sumner County Commission on Monday and the Sumner County Board of Education on Tuesday.

On Monday, teachers, principals and school nurses descended on the county’s administration building for a vote to set the county’s tax rate at $2.262 per $100 of assessed property value. The rate is 33 cents more than the certified rate of $1.9284.

Of the 33-cent increase, 12 cents will go toward funding raises for certified employees at an estimated cost of $8.8 million. Two cents, or roughly $1.2 million, will go toward hiring school resource officers in the remaining 15 schools that do not currently have one.

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For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews