Shelby County Commission give support to new schools and teacher raises

Shelby County Commissioners voted in favor of building two new high schools and providing a substantial raise to teachers Monday night.Both are key educational priorities in the county’s 2023/2024 budget that could receive final approval Wednesday morning.The capital spending plan approved by commissioners includes $65 million for building improvements and the construction of high schools in Frayser and Cordova. The backing from commissioners follows last month’s event in Frayser where students held a press conference to rally support for the new school.“This is our home, and we want to be able to educate right here with the right tools. We don’t wanna have to go outside our neighborhood to take courses like health science, STEM, and culinary arts to name a few. We know that building a new school will provide more opportunities to take advanced classes,” said sophomore Trenton Watson at the event.Commissioners also approved Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ (MSCS) $2.2 billion operating budget that includes an additional $27 million to help increase teacher salaries and additional money for academic bonuses. Teacher salaries will increase from the starting base pay of $42,000 to $47,000 for new teachers under the spending plan. That’s $5 thousand more than the recently passed state minimum teacher salary.“This investment includes the highest starting salary for teachers in our community at this time and the highest percentage increase in the Memphis area,” said the district in a previous news release.The budget passed with a nine to one vote. Two commissioners, Commissioners Erika Sugarman and David C. Bradford, withheld their votes to avoid any potential conflicts related to education or construction.The budget also includes investments in security measures such as camera upgrades, weapon detection, fencing around the schools, and personnel to monitor weapon detection equipment.Under the spending plan the district would additionally have funding to invest in additional school-based employees including mental health professionals, academic support for students, new textbooks, graduation coaches, additional English as a second language (ESL) support, and college, career & technical education investments.Interim MSCS superintendent Tutonial “Toni” Williams originally presented the district’s budget request in April to Shelby County Commissioners following input from teachers, parents, students, and the community.School board members approved the spending plan request earlier this month.