Updated May 3, 2019

A new report from the Tennessee Comptroller of Treasury indicates the state has boosted teacher salaries across the state.

The Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability reports an average teacher salary increased 6.2 percent, making the Volunteer State the third-fastest growing in the southeast for teacher salaries.

The office says the raises are results of more than $300 million in new, reassuring state dollars available to the state’s public school districts through the Basic Education Program.

At the individual district level, the growth in salary expenditures varied, from a decrease of 10 percent to an increase of over 26 percent.

In a recent meeting, the Giles County School Board was notified that the state has reduced county's Basic Education Program funding by $124,000.

Assistant Director of Schools Michael Gonzales advised the board that cuts will be made to reflect lower student numbers and offset some of the reduction in BEP money.

Only certain positions can be paid for with BEP funds and local governments must support pay increases and new positions through their own revenue streams.