Charter schools in Hamilton County pay their teachers less on average than the Hamilton County school system, a Chattanooga Times Free Press analysis found.
The average salary for a charter school teacher was $57,712 in March. Teachers in the school district were paid $61,031 on average, according to January salary data.
Though charter schools can choose to follow Hamilton County Schools’ salary schedule, their budgeting decisions are made separately from the district, and charters have the flexibility to set their own pay structures. Under Tennessee public records laws, both the school system and the six entities overseeing the county’s nine charter schools provided salary data from this school year.
Chattanooga Preparatory had the largest gap in average pay between teachers and administrators, over $70,000. Out of the nine charter schools in the county, it fell in the middle range for teacher pay and had the highest-paid administrators.