Teacher Pay Raises Hit Memphis Paychecks

Memphis-Shelby County Schools teachers represented by the district’s two unions are getting larger paychecks after the school board approved a 2% raise on April 22. (commercialappeal.com) The raise covers educators represented by the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association and the United Education Association of Shelby County under the district’s collaborative conferencing agreement. (commercialappeal.com) (boarddocs.com) The Daily Memphian reported teachers will see an average 3.9% increase in 2026-27 pay when the negotiated raise is combined with step movement on the salary schedule. (dailymemphian.com) Memphis-Shelby County Schools already publishes a 2025-26 teacher pay schedule that runs over 26 even pay periods, with paydays scheduled twice a month through July 2026. (scsk12.org) That matters in Memphis because teacher pay has been a running bargaining issue between the district and its two educator associations since the current memorandum of understanding took effect in December 2022. (boarddocs.com) The district has also tied compensation directly to retention. In its adopted 2025-26 budget resolution, the board listed recruiting and keeping effective teachers among its stated priorities. (localmemphis.com) This is the second straight year of a notable salary move. In April 2024, Memphis-Shelby County Schools said it was investing an additional $28.4 million in teacher salaries for the 2024-25 fiscal year. (scsk12.org) (localmemphis.com) That 2024 package raised base pay across degree bands, added two extra salary steps for the longest-serving teachers, and pushed combined teacher-compensation investments for fiscal 2024 and 2025 to $67.1 million, the district said. (scsk12.org) (localmemphis.com) The next test is whether the new raise shows up quickly and helps the district hold onto teachers ahead of the 2026-27 school year. (dailymemphian.com)