Trousdale County board approves preliminary salary increases for 2026–27; items entered into budget to send to county

The Trousdale County Board of Education approved preliminary salary increases for the 2026–27 school year on a series of voice votes Thursday, agreeing to include a 3% raise for non‑certified staff, a 3% raise for all certified teachers and a 1% raise for administrative personnel in the district’s preliminary budget.

The board voted to add the non‑certified raise after Mr. Woodard moved the recommendation from the director of schools and Miss Pate seconded. Later motions to include a 3% increase for teachers and a 1% projected increase for administrators were approved by similar voice votes. Board members said the items will be entered into a preliminary budget packet that must be delivered to the county commission by May 1.

Director of schools Ms. Katherine told the board that she and staff discussed the proposals with budget staff and that the teacher increase is expected to be funded from TEASE; the non‑certified and administrative increases derive from other budget lines and remain subject to the county’s budget process. "We have to start our process quite a bit earlier than the county does," the director said, and officers noted that the approved entries are preliminary and contingent on final county allocations.

Board members who moved and seconded the motions were recorded on the meeting floor; the board used voice voting for each item and there was no recorded roll‑call tally of individual yes/no votes in the public minutes. Members said the district will monitor funding availability as the county budget process progresses.

The board also approved the overall meeting agenda and consent agenda earlier in the session and heard routine district reports on testing windows, report‑card timing and facility maintenance before taking the salary votes.

The next formal step is the district’s submittal of the preliminary budget to the Trousdale County Commission by the statutory May 1 deadline; final salary adoption depends on the remainder of the budget process and any subsequent county decisions.