No Raise for Tennessee Teachers
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JACKSON, Tenn. — Teaching high school students is a lot more than reading, writing, and arithmetic, says North Side High School teacher Essie Lovelady. “We can teach them what’s in the textbooks and that’s good, they need to know that, but then we need to share some things about what life is all about,” Lovelady said. She has been a teacher in the Tennessee public school system for 15 years. This week, Governor Bill Haslam said his plan to raise teacher salaries every year for five years will have to be delayed a year because of budget constraints. Educators at North Side said hearing the news from the governor was a disapointment, but it was no surprise. They say cuts in education are nothing new. “We are used to that now. It’s been a long time since we’ve actually had a raise, so we love our jobs, and we just continue to do what we have to do to help the students,” Lovelady said. She says that’s not the case with every teacher, as she has seen some leave teaching for better pay, even though they love the job. Lovelady says her real payback is when her students succeed in the world. The Gov. Haslam says his five-year plan to increase state workers pay will have to be pushed back a year.
