State Senator Todd Gardenhire has held Tennessee’s school districts' feet to the fire in getting teacher pay raises to classroom teachers, according to fellow Senator Bo Watson, who spoke to the Hamilton County Pachyderm Club on Monday. Senator Watson praised Senator Gardenhire’s record of support for education, saying he voted to increase funding for teacher salaries by $536 million since taking office eight years ago, in addition to fully funding the state’s Basic Education Program.
Senator Gardenhire is facing Democratic opposition in the upcoming election.
“There is no question that Senator Gardenhire has a solid record for supporting Tennessee teachers,” said the speaker. “He has not only led the charge to ensure classroom teachers receive pay raises appropriated by the General Assembly, he also supported legislation to see they are not penalized unfairly through state assessments.”
He said Senator Gardenhire sponsored legislation to ensure teacher pay increases were not diverted after a report issued by the State Comptroller showed school districts used some of the money intended for this purpose on other school personnel. That action led to greater scrutiny on how the funds were directed, he stated.
Senator Watson said on teacher assessments, Senator Gardenhire co-sponsored legislation providing a safe harbor for teachers and schools after Tennessee experienced technical difficulties with administering the state’s TNReady tests. In addition, he co-sponsored two bills to ensure that the work done by Pre-K, Kindergarten, and non-graded teachers were evaluated more fairly through alternative growth portfolio models to measure student achievement on state assessments, he said.
Senator Watson also praised major child protection legislation that Senator Gardenhire has sponsored during his legislative tenure.
He said Senator Gardenhire carried Governor Bill Haslam’s comprehensive legislation to enhance school bus safety after the tragic crash in Chattanooga in 2016. The new law focuses on driver competency and training. It also put into place a complaint and investigation process to ensure bus drivers who are not competent are removed as quickly as possible, he said.
Senator Gardenhire also supported $15.2 million in school safety measures to help keep K-12 students and teachers safe on campus during school hours, it was stated.
The speaker said, “From sponsoring legislation reforming school bus safety, to keeping children safe from child predators and abuse - and from ensuring that students have access to mental health services to supporting suicide prevention measures -- he has sponsored major legislation to protect students. These measures will benefit students and teachers in Tennessee for many years to come.”