TENNESSEE’S TEACHERS’ UNION SEEKING 6% PAY RAISE

ScreenHunter_39 Dec. 03 10.49The state’s largest teachers’ union is calling on Gov. Bill Haslam to increase teachers’ pay by 6% this year.

The Tennessee Education Association issued a news release on Tuesday, three days before the governor is to hear a budget presentation from the state Education Department.

Haslam is holding budget hearings with state agencies this week.

The TEA said it would ultimately like to see a salary increase of 11.3% for teachers; 6% this year and the rest phased in over two to three years.

The group said the increase could be built into the state’s school funding formula, or BEP.

In 2013, Haslam vowed to make Tennessee the fastest-improving state in the nation in terms of teacher pay. He told reporters on Tuesday that he’s still committed to that, even though he didn’t say how and or when he’d do it.