BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — Blount County Schools' teacher salaries could be increasing soon.
The Blount County Commission will vote on the county's budget for the next fiscal year on June 20, and that includes a recommendation for an allocation of money to Blount County Schools.
That allocation would allow the district to raise starting salaries for teachers within the district to $50,000. Under the recommendation, teachers who make less than $50,000 each year will also see their salaries go up to that amount.
If the budget passes, teachers will see an increase in their paychecks starting July 1. The current starting wage for a teacher within the Blount County Schools system is $42,865.
Teacher wages are expected to change across the state over the next couple of years, due to a law that was passed by last year by legislators. The law requires all teachers to make $50,000 per year by the 2026 to 2027 school year.
The year-by-year minimum yearly income requirements are listed below.
- $42,000 for the 2023/2024 school year
- $44,000 for the 2024/2025 school year
- $47,000 for the 2025/2026 school year
- $50,000 for the 2026/2027 school year
The Blount County Board of Education passed its own budget earlier this year, which included raises for some faculty members, along with the teacher pay increase.
The budget recommendation from the county only covers funding to allow teacher salaries to increase to $50,000.
"I am grateful for the work of the Blount County Education Association and the board management team on developing a salary schedule that prioritized our goal of a beginning teacher salary of $50,000," said David Murrell in a statement, the Blount County Schools Director. "The budget approved on March 25, 2024, was based on this request from the Collaborative Conferencing team with a corresponding Memorandum of Understanding. The board’s budget request remains intact until the county sets the tax rate for fiscal year 2024-2025. As always, we are Blount County Strong and value the commitment of our staff to ensure all students receive a high quality educational experience."
The Blount County Mayor's Office said this year's proposed budget is balanced, with no tax increases.
"Although I agree that starting pay needs to be raised, and we have the means to do that, but it’s not at the cost of raising taxes on people’s property," said Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell. "We can raise the starting teacher pay to $50,000. The recommendation from the Board of Education included raising starting teacher pay, along with significant across-the-board increases. I do not agree with this recommendation from the Board of Education with a price tag of over $5 million."
Blount County Education Association President Rebecca Dickenson said the group is grateful for the proposed increase.
"We appreciate the county's efforts to make our salary competitive, especially for our new colleagues," Dickenson said.
A public hearing will be held on June 10 about the budget.
The Blount County County Commission will also hold a workshop on June 11, where the budget will be discussed. The Blount County Commission votes on the budget on June 20.
The public is welcome to attend the meeting and comment on the budget proposal.