Metro Nashville Public Schools end year with slow progress on filling teacher vacancies
Metro Nashville Public Schools ended the semester with 164 unfilled full-time teaching positions, down from 172 at the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
A recruiting event held Dec. 7 led to 10 recommendations, with follow-up interviews to come, according to MNPS spokesperson Sean Braisted. On Dec. 9, the district also hosted a recruitment fair for exceptional education and early childhood positions. The district is offering up to a $5,000 limited sign-on bonus for exceptional education pre-K teachers.
The district has hosted recruiting and hiring events throughout the year as teacher shortages persist in Tennessee and nationwide.
An additional 401 full-time support positions remain unfilled, most of which are classroom associate roles funded by the latest budget passed by the Metro Council. Classroom associates are assigned to a specific school and can help with everything from drop-off and pickup procedures to substitute teaching.
Survey: 86% of public schools struggle to hire teachers
As the current school year got underway, nearly nine in 10 public school districts said they struggled to hire teachers, according to a recent survey from the National Center for Education Statistics. Potential hires were deterred by low salaries, according to the survey. Areas like special education, science and foreign language topped the list of positions with the most teacher shortages.
2023 teacher shortages: What to know about vacancies in your region
Teacher pay has been a hot topic among Nashville leaders in recent years.
In 2021, the Metro Council passed a budget with a large boost for MNPS teacher pay after years of stagnant wages. It worked out to an average of $7,000 more per year for each teacher.
In 2022, the Metro Council used $5 million from the city's already slim emergency reserves to help offset a $22.6 million MNPS budget shortfall and fund bonuses for the district's support staff. The critical funding gap was created by a decrease in state dollars due to a new school funding formula. The 2022 budget also included raises, paid family leave and 4% cost-of-living increases for MNPS employees, among other measures.
In his final year in office, now-former Nashville Mayor John Cooper again pushed for higher pay for teachers and additional funding for schools. This spring, the Metro Council ultimately passed a $1.2 billion budget for MNPS in its 2024 fiscal year budget , including a 4% cost-of-living adjustment and 3% step raise for all MNPS employees, including support staff. The budget also included pay raises for principals and assistant principals.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville schools end year with slow progress on filling teaching jobs
