Court Orders Tennessee To Level Teacher Pay

By Joetta L. Sack

Tennessee's supreme court ordered the state last week to find a more equitable way to pay teachers, creating a quandary for lawmakers and the next governor that may cost the cash-strapped state hundreds of millions of dollars.

The five-judge court ruled unanimously Oct. 8 that the state's contributions for teacher pay produce such wide disparities in salaries that poor, rural districts cannot compete for and retain well-qualified teachers, and thus cannot provide the equal educational opportunities required by the state constitution.

It ordered the legislature...