NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Mayor John Cooper announced Tuesday his administration would commit to funding a 3% cost-of-living raise for teachers and support staff with Metro Nashville Public Schools.

The adjustment would go into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

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Mayor Cooper was joined at the press conference by MNPS Interim Director Dr. Adrienne Battle, MNPS Board Chair Anna Shepherd, and Nashville Metro Council District 29 representative and Education Committee Chair Delishia Porterfield for the teacher pay announcement.

“Nashville’s teachers are our most important resource when it comes to public education, and we’re keeping an important promise made to our hard-working educators,” said Mayor Cooper. “We still have work to do in understanding how to better attract and retain teachers in our school system. I look forward to the results of the expert compensation study currently underway that will help us identify long-term solutions for improving teacher compensation.”

The 3% raise will be made permanent through future work with the Metro Council, according to a press release. The mayor’s office reports in 2020, the $7.5 million of funding required for the adjustment will be sourced from excess MNPS fund balance, of which $2.5 million has come from MDHA. The adjustment requires Council approval and is expected to go before the Board of Education in December.

An expert teacher compensation study is expected to be concluded in February of 2020. It will give the Mayor’s Office, the MNPS school board, the Metro Council, and the public insight into the causes of MNPS teacher attraction and retention challenges. It will also present policymakers, the public, and educators with a set of options to incorporate a compensation strategy that provides both short-term and long-term solutions, according to the release.