JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – A key part of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s plan calls for teacher pay raises, but that announcement is being met with skepticism in the Tri-Cities.

Monday night, Gov. Lee delivered his State of the State Address, saying that his administration wishes to raise teachers’ salaries across Tennessee. Local educators said there is no guarantee that money will make it to the teachers’ bank accounts.

“Our teachers deserve to be paid more for the important work they do,” Gov. Lee said during his address in Nashville.

SEE ALSO: Gov. Lee accents education spending in 2nd State of the State address

But not all that promised money will come from the Capitol, according to Johnson City Schools Board of Education Chairman Tim Belisle.

“Whenever a governor in Tennessee comes out and says we’re gonna increase salaries by four percent, that only means they’re gonna increase the state’s portion of the salary that they actually fund,” Belisle said.

He said much of the burden of teacher pay falls on local school districts.

“It’s a bit misleading to say we’re gonna increase salaries by four percent because a whole lot of that burden falls back to the local school board and the local education district to fund a significant portion of that and oftentimes those monies are just not there,” Belisle said.

This is a reality 7th-grade teacher Joe Crabtree has faced before.

“We appreciate knowing that our teachers are valued, the problem that we have is that in current Tennessee State Law, with the way the funding mechanism is set up, that when a raise is put into the funding mechanism, it doesn’t necessarily equal to raises for our teachers and for our staff, so even though the four percent may be there, it may not actually go into the pockets of the teachers as it may be intended,” said Crabtree, who is the president of the Johnson City Education Association.

Gov. Lee also announced that his administration aims to increase the minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $40,000.

“I would like to see it higher, honestly, but it’s a good start,” Crabtree said.

Gov. Lee said the goal is to reward teachers and make teaching more appealing to young people.

“I’m hopeful but skeptical,” Crabtree said.