Budget/Campaign Updates & Call-to-Action - 4/19/23

On Tuesday, April 11, 2023, the MNPS School Board discussed the budget once again. Here is a recap:

  • MNEA members urged the Board to support instituting longevity pay and pushed back on Dr. Battle's plan to "phase out" day-to-day subs and replace them with "Classroom Associates" (building subs). They challenged the Board to put forth a number on what it would take to increase sub pay to a competitive rate. (Thus far, the district has not even considered this.) They also asked members to defer the vote until those numbers could be provided. SPOILER: They didn't provide a number, nor did they defer the vote on the budget.  

  • BM Abigail Tylor urged the other Board Members to choose items from the aspirational budget to prioritize when advocating to Metro Council.

  • BM Emily Masters asked for clarification about the plan to phase out day-to-day subs and invest in "Classroom Associates." Initially, Dr. Battle claimed there was no phase out plan, but after prodding from BM Masters, she did acknowledge they will be phasing them out eventually. You can watch the question and answer exchange here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZMyt1owqUM 

    • There is no concrete plan about how many classroom associates schools will have.

    • Day-to-day subs will NOT be phased out next year, but they will be phased out eventually.

    • They have not, and are not, considering raising the pay for day-to-day subs. 

  • Dr. Battle indicated that we have to "stop investing in the things that are not working" as a reason why they are not considering raising day-to-day sub pay. (We can't claim this is not working when there hasn't been an investment actually made; see the data below for what day-to-day subs are getting paid and how many employees are in each category.)

  • BM Freda Player-Peters explained that no priorities have been set from the aspirational budget because we don't have information about how much money we will have to work with. (THIS is the inherent problem with the way they have been doing the budget process this way.)

  • When questioned about WHEN priorities would be identified, BR BM Player-Peters indicated that it would be two weeks (so by April 25). 

  • The Board Members voted unanimously to approve the budget. 

At this time, we need the Board Members (and Dr. Battle) to understand that the solution needs to be both/and, not either/or. The district needs to both invest in more building subs/AND increase the pay rate for day-to-day subs. This is a matter of safety for our students, attracting candidates, and retaining our school employees. 

Day-to-Day Sub Pay Data

Ed Assistant Substitute - 182 total  - $85/day; $11.33/hr  

60 Credit Hrs. Or Less than Bachelor’s Degree  - 73 total - $90/day ; $12/hr 

Bachelor’s Degree or Higher (Non-Certified)  - 93 total - $100/day; $13.33/hr 

Valid TN License - 505 total - $115/day; $15.33/hr 

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Mayor’s State of Metro address, where he will outline his budget priorities, will take place on 4/27/23. In the meantime, take a minute to send your School Board Member an email, asking them to prioritize day-to-day sub pay in their budget advocacy : Click Here to Send an Email (If you don’t live in Davidson County, use the address for your school.) If you prefer to write a personalized email, you can find contact information for your Board Member here.

Metropolitan Nashville Education Association