Sullivan Teachers Get Promise Now, Pay Later

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County teachers won't get a one-time bonus this year, but most are in line to receive a lump sum of extra money in January or February just in time to pay off holiday bills.The money — to be followed by a traditional monthly pay increase for those eligible next school year — will be in checks early next year if the school board adopts a proposed new salary scale Monday.The proposal increases selected steps on the scale.In collaborative conferencing, which took the place of collective bargaining in Tennessee, representatives of teachers and the school board late Monday afternoon reached a memorandum of understanding on how to spend more than $212,000 in Basic Education Program money from the state for 2014-15.The group is made up of members of the Sullivan County Education Association, Professional Educators of Sullivan County and school system officials."I'm getting nothing (this year) and I'm not complaining," PESC President Kim Blevins said.The MOU will be up for approval bythe Board of Education at its 6:30 p.m.