NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Bill Haslam says he regrets not being able to give teachers a raise next year and pledged to find ways to increase their pay in the future.
Earlier this week, the Republican governor said he won't be able to give teachers and state employees a pay increase mainly because of reductions due to an ongoing decline in revenue collections.
Teachers were to get a 2 percent increase and state employees 1 percent.
However, last year Haslam pledged to improve the salaries of the state's teachers so that by the time he leaves office their salaries have grown more than teacher salaries in any other state.
The governor told reporters on Wednesday that going forward he plans to try to improve teachers' salaries each time he works on the budget.