Dive Brief:

• A $160-million budget gap is keeping Gov. Bill Haslam from making good on his proposal to increase teacher pay by 2% next year. 
• Last fall, the Republican governor said he wanted to give teachers the biggest raises in the country while he was in office over the next five years. 
• Teachers and education officials feel betrayed by Haslam’s empty promises; however, the governor maintains the cut proposal is not due to a change of heart but rather a lack of funds — Tennessee received $33 million less in sales taxes than expected. 

Dive Insight:

“State leaders need to be held accountable for the abysmal job they are doing in taking care of our students and teachers,” said Gera Summerford, president of the Tennessee Education Association. “The governor’s cuts to teacher salaries and higher education continue the state’s race to the bottom in education funding.”

These cutting words were few and far between as teachers — and the organizations representing the state’s 70,000 educators — voiced disappointmen over the expected proposal delay.

While the governor has now requested to put $35.5 million in the state’s "rainy day" fund, the poor planning of the proposal still has many feeling understandably frustrated. The state's colleges and universities also lost out, as the amended budget withdrew a $12.9-million funding increase.