Parents and students call for fairer middle-school arts stipends

Parents and a student urged the Williamson County Board of Education on May 19 to change how middle-school arts stipends are calculated so theater, orchestra and other arts teachers receive pay that more closely reflects out-of-class hours and work intensity.

Why it matters: Stipends compensate teachers for duties beyond classroom instruction. Speakers argued current stipend percentages undervalue some arts instructors, which they said affects recruitment and fairness.

At public comment, Grama (Grey) Rose praised a recent move to base middle-school arts stipends on a percentage rather than set amounts but said a proposed budget currently would give a theater teacher a 7% stipend while the band teacher would receive 10% despite the theater teacher's heavier after-school workload. Rose said, "Simply put, my theater teacher is not a carton of eggs," and described months of rehearsals, set building and weekend work that make theater production like a second job. The sixth-grade speaker M H (MH) Hill told the board that orchestra, band and choir teachers "should be paid more for all they do" and urged parity with sports and band coaches for fine-arts coaches.

No board action was taken on stipends at the meeting. Several board members and staff acknowledged the issue during the superintendent's report and public comment but did not advance a policy or budget amendment at that time.

What's next: Speakers asked the board to gather accurate data on hours worked and consider an addendum to the budget or a future policy change to set a single percentage for all middle-school art stipends.