Mayor David Briley announced this week that all Metro Nashville Public School teachers and support staff will receive another 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on January 1, 2020, in addition to the 3% COLA the Mayor made possible effective immediately. The result is that teachers and support staff will see a 6% pay increase over last year by the time this school year is over.
The new raises surpass the teacher raises in the substitute budgets presented by council members last month, and it does so without raising taxes. In all, Mayor Briley is allocating more than $30 million in additional funds to Metro Schools this year – more than six times the increase MNPS received in last year’s budget.
“I have been working on the MNPS budget with Dr. Battle and Dr. Gentry, trying to find the best possible way to get recurring dollars to teachers while not penalizing the 40% MNPS teachers who are “topped out” and while avoiding a property tax increase this year – something that would have hurt in-county teachers more than the proposed raises would have helped,” Mayor Briley said. “With this increase in place, we will continue our in-depth talks about comprehensive pay plan restructuring for teachers so the more than half of all teachers who are topped out of receiving meaningful increases will get them in future years.
This announcement is the latest of many from Briley’s administration that has shown strength regarding our school system. Last fall, Briley formed an Education Kitchen Cabinet to address the needs of our 21 priority schools. This spring, he made headlines for standing behind Schools Director Dr. Joseph during turmoil and calling out the politics-driven behavior of school board members. This new plan has the support of MNPS School Board Chair Dr. Sharon Gentry and MNPS Director Dr. Adrienne Battle.
“Mayor Briley’s investment shows a deep commitment to our teachers and staff members, and we thank him for his leadership and support for public education,” Dr. Battle said. “We are only as successful as our amazing staff, and the Mayor’s actions show how he values them. Our goal is that these resources also ensure that we are able to maintain funding for other new strategic investments. MNPS is thankful to partner with the Mayor and Metro Council who are dedicated to the success of our students and staff.”
Briley, who is up for re-election on Aug. 1, declares that this is only the beginning of the work he’ll do to improve the culture and performance of our public schools.
“I am grateful to Dr. Adrienne Battle, the MNPS Board, MDHA and the members of the TIF Study and Formulating Committee, whose hard work and support made this additional COLA possible,” Mayor Briley continued. “I plan to keep at it, and I know we have more great things to come for all students and teachers in our schools.”
