Earlier this morning, Mayor John Cooper announced that his administration would fully commit to funding a 3 percent cost of living adjustment for MNPS teachers and support staff effective January 1, 2020. Mayor Cooper was joined at a press conference by MNPS Interim Director Dr. Adrienne Battle, MNPS Board Chair Anna Shepherd, and Nashville Metro Council District 29 representative and Education Committee Chair Delishia Porterfield for the teacher pay announcement.
“Nashville’s teachers are our most important resource when it comes to public education, and we’re keeping an important promise made to our hard-working educators,” said Mayor Cooper. “We still have work to do in understanding how to better attract and retain teachers in our school system. I look forward to the results of the expert compensation study currently underway that will help us identify long-term solutions for improving teacher compensation.”
The 3 percent COLA will be made permanent through future work with the Metro Council. In 2020, the $7.5 million of funding required for the adjustment will be sourced from excess MNPS fund balance, of which $2.5 million has come from MDHA. The adjustment requires Council approval and will go before the Board of Education in December.
An expert teacher compensation study is expected to be concluded in February of 2020. It will give the Mayor’s Office, the MNPS school board, the Metro Council, and the public insight into the causes of MNPS teacher attraction and retention challenges. It will also present policymakers, the public, and educators with a set of options to incorporate a compensation strategy that provides both short-term and long-term solutions.