posted March 9, 2004
Nashville – Plaintiffs in the original Tennessee Small School Systems lawsuit today endorsed Governor Phil Bredesen’s plan to make teacher salary a component of the Basic Education Program (BEP). The plaintiffs unanimously pledged their support after a meeting with officials from the State Department of Education to hear the details of the Administration’s teacher pay equity proposal.
The Governor issued the following statement in response to today’s endorsement:
“I want to express my appreciation to all of the people who have worked so diligently on this very complex issue during the last year. Making the funding of salaries a component of the BEP is an important first step to equalizing teacher pay in Tennessee.
"In the interim, the funding of salaries through the BEP will impact individual school systems in different ways as we work out the disparities, but the longer term impact of this change will ensure students in all 136 of our state’s systems are provided with equal educational opportunities. As with all first steps, we may not get it perfect the first time, but I strongly believe we’re on the right track and will work to refine the program as we move forward.
"I’m gratified that the plaintiffs in the small schools case have endorsed this proposal to equalize teacher pay, and thank them and all of our school systems across Tennessee for the spirit of cooperation they’ve brought to the issue. Their help and support will go a long way to ensuring that education remains the highest priority of our state.”
In response to a longstanding lawsuit brought by small school systems from across the state, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in October 2002 that the State of Tennessee had failed to satisfy a constitutional mandate requiring a statewide system of public education that “affords substantially equal educational opportunity to all students.”
Specifically, the Court found the state was not taking adequate steps to promote equity in teacher pay across the state’s 136 school systems.
The plaintiff in the case, Tennessee School Systems For Equity, is made of up of a number of small school systems from across the state. The organization has grown during the last 11 years to include 77 school systems.
In one of his first official actions as Governor, Bredesen in February 2003 issued an executive order forming the Governor’s Task Force on Teacher Pay to examine the legal issues raised by the Supreme Court and to develop a comprehensive approach to address teacher pay equity. The 16-member task force, comprised of key state and local education officials, met over the course of nine months to develop a “road map” to address teacher pay in a manner that would be fair and acceptable to all stakeholders.
As part of these discussions, task force members unanimously recommended to the Governor a range of core principles to serve as the basis for a new strategy to address teacher pay as part of the BEP. The principles outlined by the task force included:
· Establishing a reasonable baseline for teacher salaries across Tennessee.
· Asking local governments to accept a fair share of the responsibility for improving teacher pay moving forward.
· Taking into account local school systems’ ability to pay prior to determining the state’s contribution.
“In keeping with the task force’s recommendations, the Department of Education proposed adjusting the BEP funding formula to provide a systematic approach to improve teacher pay across the state,” said Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Lana Seivers. “By raising the average teacher salary in Tennessee, we’re increasing our ability to attract and keep good teachers and provide each child with a quality education.”
Representatives of Tennessee School Systems For Equity said they "are pleased with the strategy put forth by the Governor and the Department of Education to fund teacher salaries through the BEP, and express our support as a result of today’s meeting."
"This has been a long road for us. We now feel like we’ve reached an important milestone,” said Wayne Qualls, executive director of Tennessee School Systems For Equity. “The Governor has listened to our concerns and responded positively. We look forward to a continued relationship working with the Governor and the General Assembly to ensure we can attract and retain good teachers for all of our state’s school systems.”
"We are very appreciative of the Governor’s efforts with this complex problem,” said Bill Emerson, president of Tennessee School Systems For Equity and superintendent of Bells City School System. “We look forward to working with the Governor and his administration going forward as we work to reach a final solution to this issue. We want to thank the Governor for appointing the task force that recommended the 10 principles and outlined the methodology to reach a final solution. It was very important to all of us that the salary monies were put into the BEP.”
Minnie Miller, director of schools for Johnson County sai, “My school system has been a part of the Tennessee Small School Systems lawsuit since the beginning. We believe that Governor Bredesen is serious about minimizing teacher salary disparity in Tennessee and improving all salaries for teachers. We’re just beginning to be able to compete with not only other school systems in Tennessee, but with school systems from North Carolina and Virginia, which surround us. Even with difficult budget circumstances, the Governor is doing the right thing.”
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