KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Teachers across Tennessee are making more money this school year as a new state requirement raises the minimum starting salary for educators to $50,000.

The new minimum took effect with the 2026-27 school year, increasing the required salary by $15,000 from the previous $35,000 minimum.

Gov. Bill Lee announced the Teacher Paycheck Protection Act in 2023, giving school districts several years to prepare their budgets for the change.

School districts across East Tennessee told 10News they have been planning for the increase in different ways. Some districts were able to exceed the $50,000 requirement, while others said they had to make difficult staffing and budget decisions.

In Campbell County, the beginning salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree and no prior experience is now $51,750.

Campbell County Director of Schools Charlotte McCoy said the district was already paying above $50,000 last school year. In 2025-26, a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree earned $50,250.

“We had that last year in the 25, 26 school year, a beginning teacher with zero years experience with a bachelor's degree made $50,250,” McCoy said. “And we're very proud that we were ahead of the game.”

But the higher salaries came as the district dealt with declining enrollment and less additional funding through Tennessee's funding formula, known as TISA.

McCoy said the district had to reduce staffing to balance its budget and pay for the raises.

“We had to decrease staff, so we had a loss of approximately 13 teachers to cover the cost,” she said.

McCoy clarified that most of those staffing reductions were handled through attrition, including teachers who retired. 

She estimates approximately 81% of Campbell County's overall budget goes toward staff salaries.

She said the higher salaries are still important for recruiting and retaining educators.

Campbell County's salary schedule is higher than many surrounding districts, although McCoy said the district cannot compete with salaries offered by Knox County and Oak Ridge.

Other East Tennessee districts said they have been working toward the new minimum for years.

Cocke County Schools has phased in salary increases over the last three to five years. Beginning teachers with a bachelor's degree now make at least $50,000.

Bryan Douglas, a representative for Cocke County Schools, said the district completed the final phase of its plan this year.

“We've been doing it in phases over the last 3 to 5 years and we completed the final phase of it this year and all professional staff, certified staff received a 6.5% raise this year,” Douglas said.

Douglas said about 70% to 72% of the district's funding comes from the state, while roughly 28% to 30% is locally funded. Cocke County also receives additional federal funding as a Title I district.

Douglas said the district's goal is not just to meet the state requirement, but to keep the teachers it has already trained and hired.

“Other districts around the area can pay more and we love to keep our people that we've trained and we've hired because we think they're the right people to work with our kids and our community and we want to be able to keep as many of our certified personnel as we can,” he said.

Anderson County Schools is also exceeding the new minimum, with beginning teachers earning $51,000.

Director of Schools Tim Parrott said the district reached the $50,000 mark last year and increased starting pay another $1,000 this year.

Parrott said Anderson County has been putting additional funding toward teacher pay for about five years to reach the new minimum early.

He said the district also wanted to become more competitive with nearby school systems.

“What we want to do is we wanted to really and truly become more competitive. That way we can keep our teachers because if we can keep them through, a lot of times when they get that master's degree and get to maybe 5 or 10 years, that's when we start losing some ground and we lose our good teachers,” Parrott said.

Anderson County has lost teachers to other districts, particularly Oak Ridge, where Parrott said salaries can be higher.

He said the district is generally competitive with neighboring districts at the beginning of a teacher's career, but the gap can grow after several years.

To address that, Anderson County added an additional $500 raise at the 10-year mark and another $500 raise at 20 years this year.

Parrott said local taxes and TISA funding are helping pay for the increases.

About 70% of Anderson County's budget goes toward salaries for teachers and classified employees, according to Parrott. When salaries are combined with recurring expenses such as buses, electricity and gasoline, he estimated about 92% of the budget is committed to those costs.

“That doesn't leave a lot of room for that, those extra things. So we've got to be very careful how we budget those,” Parrott said.

District leaders say the higher salaries are ultimately about making schools more competitive and keeping experienced teachers in classrooms.

The $50,000 minimum is now in effect statewide for the 2026-27 school year.