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)