State Flooded with Teacher Applicants After 40% Pay Increase

Except this is Tennessee and that definitely didn't happen

Photo by Brandon Jean on Unsplash

There are some big changes underway in terms of compensation for some Tennessee public employees.

WKRN reports that the starting salary for State Troopers has been boosted by 40%:

The Tennessee Highway Patrol now has one of the highest starting law enforcement salaries in the state, and the pay increase has paid off when it comes to recruitment.

THP recently raised its starting salary for both new cadets and lateral transfers from $46,000 and $48,000 per year respectively, to $65,000 per year.

The pay increase has led to a record-setting recruitment class.

The move to boost the pay for the Tennessee Highway Patrol comes just two years after Gov. Lee announced a 37% boost in starting pay for Corrections Officers:

In announcing the move, Lee said:

“As we face staffing shortages across the country, rewarding officers with competitive pay will ensure we recruit and retain the most highly qualified individuals in our workforce,” said Gov. Lee. “These Tennesseans play a crucial role in ensuring public safety and we remain committed to valuing their important work.”

Relative to THP salaries, leadership at the law enforcement agency says:

“When it comes down to the quality of life and being able to provide for your family without having to wonder if you’re going to meet your monthly bills, this gives people a little more reassurance and a cushion for them to continue to work in a profession that they love to do and for them to be compensated for that,” THP captain over recruitment, Krystal Thaxter said of the pay increase.

No doubt, the employees in both of these difficult jobs deserve the pay increase.

What’s interesting is that while Lee is taking swift action on raising pay for law enforcement and prison guards, he’s moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to teacher compensation.

Lee has promised that the starting pay for Tennessee teachers will be $50,000 by the time he leaves office in 2026.

What exactly is he waiting for?

The state is facing a teacher shortage, teacher compensation in Tennessee lags behind our Southeastern neighbors, and the state has a massive budget surplus.

Money! Money! Money!

Yes, Tennessee has a $2 billion revenue surplus. Again.

And the arguments made for boosting law enforcement salaries apply to teachers, too.

As THP’s Capt. Thaxter notes:

“. . . it’s about quality of life and being able to provide for your family. . .”

And every single Tennessee teacher responds:

“Same.”

For a little more than $600 million, Tennessee could raise starting teacher pay to $60,000 and give all teachers a substantial (10%+) pay boost.

That is, we could make this significant investment in our state’s teachers and have $1.4 billion remaining for other priorities.

Are our schools less important than public safety and prisons?

So, that headline about a flood of teaching applicants following Tennessee becoming among the highest-paying states for teachers will have to wait.

Tune in to next year’s state budget to see what other groups take priority over the professionals teaching our kids in our state’s public schools.

There’s simply no good reason for this - we can have highly-compensated law enforcement officials, state employees who make a living wage, AND teachers who are the highest-paid in the Southeast.

Unfortunately, that does not appear to be a goal of our current state leadership.