Gov. Bill Lee was looking to the future when he said Tennessee has boosted itself to become one of the top 10 states nationally for teacher pay.
In a recent interview with WCLE Cleveland's "Conversations with Steve Hartline," the Republican governor rejected what he called the "false narrative" that his effort to expand private school voucher programs to all 95 Tennessee counties would come at the expense of public education.
"I've always thought and always said and always advocated for having the best public school systems in the country," he said. "We've elevated our teacher pay level to one of the top 10 states in the country. We will continue to invest in and work to make sure that our public schools are the best in the country."
That might become true, but it isn't true now.
(READ MORE: Cleveland, Tennessee, school board increases pay for teachers, bus drivers)
Tennessee ranks No. 41 for average secondary school teacher salaries, as well as No. 43 for both elementary and middle school teacher salaries, based on May 2022 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most recent available.
Lee Press Secretary Elizabeth Johnson pointed to the Teacher Paycheck Protection Act, a bill approved by lawmakers earlier this year that gradually raises the minimum teacher salary up to $50,000 by the 2026-2027 school year. The base salary for teachers this year is $42,000.
"As a result, Tennessee is currently on track to become a top ten state for starting teacher pay by 2026," a news release last month said.
Five states and the District of Columbia had a starting salary above $50,000 during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the National Education Association. Tennessee ranked No. 32 for that year.
This year's pay increase made Tennessee one of roughly a dozen states that offers a starting salary of at least $40,000 across all school districts.
Given that, it is possible Tennessee could rank in the top ten for teacher starting salaries in a couple of years, but that would be assuming other states do not increase their pay as well. At least two other states — New Mexico and Arkansas — have also increased teacher base pay to $50,000 in the past two years.
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.