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Tennessee Educators Balk at Haslam Class Size Proposal

Governor Bill Haslam's plan to lift a cap on class size averages is meeting resistance from educators, but the Republican calls the proposal a key element of his effort to allow school districts to raise teacher pay.  Haslam told reporters after a visit to a Maury County middle school this week that Tennessee is alone in setting both maximum total and average class sizes.  Removing the average size requirement would allow schools to have larger classes, meaning the total number of teachers could drop.  Haslam stressed that the maximum class size limits would remain in place, but some educators fear the effect of more classes being filled to capacity.  Maury County Schools Director Eddie Hickman expressed reservations after a meeting with the governor on Tuesday.  Hickman says the latest proposals combined with last year's changing of teacher evaluation and tenure standards have contributed to the lowest teacher morale since he became the district's school director in 2004.

Gary Pitts is a music loving outdoorsman who coincidentally loves outdoor music. He is a student at Murray State pursuing a music minor to complement his history major. Gary is a member of the MSU Guitar Ensemble and greatly enjoys the Latin grooves he and the other ensemble members get throw down on. When he is not producing news, jamming on his guitar, or pursuing music history research, he is usually canoeing or biking somewhere in nature with his wife Siobian.
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