Nashville teachers to get 4.5% pay raise in 2019-20 under Briley proposal

Jason Gonzales
The Tennessean

Nashville public schools employees will receive a net 4.5% cost of living raise in the 2019-20 school year under a reworked budget from Mayor David Briley.

Teachers will get an immediate 3% raise through a $28.2 million budget increase from Metro government — boosting district operating funds to $914.5 million. 

A second 3% cost of living adjustment will take effect Jan. 1, halfway through the upcoming school year. The board will need to vote on that adjustment later this year.

"This last year’s budget has been difficult for the city," Briley said. "The resolution of this year's budget when it comes to teacher pay ... is the best result."

The pay increase in the new year is made possible through Briley freeing up $7.5 million of the $11.2 million the district would have had to pay to the Metro Development and Housing Agency tax increment financing loan repayment.

The measure doesn't need Metro Council approval since the move is classified as a reduced expenditure for the district, according to Briley's office.

Briley's proposal puts an end to a prolonged Nashville public schools budget conversation centered mostly on how to increase employee pay.

The board voted unanimously on Monday to approve its 2019-20 school year budget during a special called meeting and after the Briley announcement.

While board members were thankful for the move from Briley, several were unhappy with the timing and communication around his announcement.

And the issue of pay is far from over, said Board Vice Chair Christiane Buggs. The district and board need to start lobbying for increased pay and funding immediately, she said.

"This isn't a sprint; this is a marathon," Buggs said.

The board approval of the budget comes after a tumultuous budget season.

The board delayed approving its budget last week to task interim Director Adrienne Battle to find $8 million in cuts to fund teacher step raises. 

The delay came after Metro government approved $48.5 million less than the board requested from the city. Leading up to the approval by city leaders, educators had placed increased pressure on city leaders to boost pay.

During the end of the 2018-19 school year, teachers protested and marched for pay increases and fixes to the district's pay scale.

But Briley's proposal doesn't amend the district's compensation scale this year.

Metro Nashville Education Association President-elect Amanda Kail said finding more funds for teachers should have been at the forefront of the budget. She added the issue of funding for Nashville schools and its students is not over.

"This is one step. We are not done, and we are not going to be done until we have the funding we need," Kail said.

Briley said the timing of the money was thanks to an analysis in the last couple of weeks and called for the cost of living pay increase because it benefits more employees.

"If we did steps and 3%, only 40% of teachers would get a 3% raise," Briley said, noting that a larger number of teachers would benefit from a cost of living adjustment. "The net result of this budget is everyone gets about 4.5% over the course of the year."

Board member Anna Shepherd said she is appreciative for the money and the budget needs to be more of a focus. 

"I think this needs to be a yearlong conversation for all of our school staff, and I hope we will get there at some point," said Shepherd, who chairs the budget committee.

Briley said he also wants there to be ongoing conversations around the budget. He said he requested the board and Battle study how best to compensate teachers.

"We do have to go do something to fix (step wages) and do a comprehensive pay plan," Briley said. "This is not the end of the story."

Battle thanked Briley for the additional funds.

"We are only as successful as our amazing staff, and the mayor’s actions show how he values them," Battle said. "Our goal is that these resources also ensure that we are able to maintain funding for other new strategic investments."

Mayoral candidates sound off on Briley's decision

Briley not only received criticism from teachers and school boards for the last-minute funding allocation, but also from his challengers seeking to unseat him in the upcoming mayoral election. 

Carol Swain, mayoral candidate and former Vanderbilt professor, said Briley's move was an attempt to score votes.

"The mayor is taking no responsibility for the unwise budgetary choices he and the Metro Council made, and his continued leadership of the city government would be more of the same,” she said.

Nashville Rep. John Ray Clemmons said he appreciated the mayor "acknowledges the detrimental impact his lack of leadership is having on teachers."

"We should call this announcement of a fiscally questionable plan right before early voting starts what it really is — the last gasp by a mayor in a tailspin," Clemmons said.

And At-large council member John Cooper said the issue in Nashville is a management problem, not a revenue issue.

"The message this announcement sends is that the mayor can spend an entire year making excuses, only to discover money for employees the month before the election," Cooper said.

In a response, Briley's campaign manager Sarah Lingo said Briley did the hard work to find a solution.

"Unfortunately, our opponents only know how to do the easy thing: complain,” Lingo said. 

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Reach Jason Gonzales at jagonzales@tennessean.com and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.