What’s Going On with MNPS Teacher Raises and the Metro Council Budget Vote?
What’s at Stake
$81 million increase for Metro Schools, which would be the largest ever single increase in MNPS funding.
Included in the plan is $50 million to fix the certificated salary schedule and bump all steps and lanes to be the highest paid in Tennessee.
There is also funding for a 2% COLA and step raises for support staff, and $2.5 million to create advocacy centers for many elementary schools.
You can see the final proposed MNPS budget here.
You can see Mayor Cooper’s budget here.
What Happens Next
Tuesday, June 15th Metro Council will have the third and final reading of the budget. There will also be the final reading of a substitute budget. The substitute budget keeps the funding for schools and adds additional investments to the Mayor’s budget, including:
$1 million for mental health and crisis counselors for first responders
$2.2 million for new fire and emergency medical responders;
$1.2 million for parks maintenance and programming staff;
$3.14 million for more school worker trainings and psychologists;
$1.3 million for Friday hours at the Public Library;
$277,000 for council travel budgets;
$4.8 million for dispatcher and other public safety support worker pay increases
How does the budget voting work?
In order for the substitute budget to pass, it must get 21 votes or more from Metro Council. If the Council fails to get these votes, the Mayor's budget goes into effect automatically. If the substitute budget passes, then the budget will go back to the Mayor who has the power to either accept or veto it. If the Mayor chooses to veto it, then the Council needs 27 votes to override the veto. Otherwise, the Mayor's budget will take effect.
It’s also possible that Metro Council will defer the vote until Tuesday, June 22nd. You can find the dates/times for all meetings here.
Both budgets include the increased funding for MNPS. Once the new budget is passed, the new pay scale will take effect on July 1st.
How do I contact my Metro Council Member?
You can look up your Metro Council Representative and their contact information here . If you don’t live in Davidson County, you can look up the representative for your school.
How Can I Watch the Council Meeting? (From the Metro Council Webpage)
Members of the public may view the meeting live online at stream.nashville.gov via the MNN, MNN2, and Committee Room streaming channels, and Metro Nashville and Davidson County residents can watch Metro Nashville Network on Comcast channel 3, AT&T Uverse channel 99, and streaming on the MNN Roku channel for meetings available on all MNN platforms. Committee meetings and the Council meeting on June 14-15, 2021 will be held in the Historic Metro Courthouse located at 1 Public Square in the rooms notated below. Parking is available in the Public Square parking garage underneath the Historic Metro Courthouse and will be validated for meeting attendees.