In February, Gov. Bill Haslam stood in front of a joint session of the General Assembly to deliver his annual State of the State address, proclaiming the state has “set a goal to be the fastest-growing state in the country when it comes to paying our teachers, so more than $63 million is included [in the budget] for teacher salaries.”

Seeing how, according to the National Education Association, teacher salaries in Tennessee rank a lowly 41st in the nation, this increase could give teachers a much-needed pay bump and, in part, perhaps, make up for years of anti-teacher legislation by the General Assembly.

But the governor did not keep his word.

He recently announced that, due to a budget shortfall, teachers are not going to get those 2 percent raises. State workers are going to miss out on their raises, too.

“The Governor’s budget represents a broken promise to the people of Tennessee,” says House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley). “We should not be balancing the budget on the backs of parents, teachers, state employees, colleges and universities, and countless other hard-working Tennesseans.”

The Tennessee Education Association, already upset with the attacks on teachers – and calls for “accountability’’ from the profession – were upset again with the governor.

“Accountability – that is all we hear from the governor and other state officials when it comes to public education. Where is their accountability?” asks Gera Summerford, TEA president and Sevier County math teacher.

“State leaders need to be held accountable for the abysmal job they are doing in taking care of our students and teachers. The governor’s cuts to teacher salaries and higher education continue the state’s race to the bottom in education funding.”

“While parents and teachers want to see students succeed, a teacher’s dedication and hard work can only go so far if she does not have the necessary resources to teach her students. Teachers and school systems across the state are already functioning on minimal funding. Now the governor is making it even more challenging to provide a quality education for all students,” Summerford adds.

All of the tax cuts that have taken place over the last few years have caught up with this administration. Facing a tight budget year, I guess the state will have to cut where it can. Probably means it will have to give out fewer tax breaks to companies.

Will that happen? Nope.

Phil Williams, investigative reporter for News Channel 5 in Nashville, uncovered documents that showed the state offered Volkswagen $300 million in tax breaks if its unionization vote should go a certain way, that is, anti-union.

Williams’ report stated: “Documents leaked to NewsChannel 5 Investigates (show) conclusive proof that the Haslam administration wanted a say in the automaker’s deal with organized labor – in exchange for $300 million in economic incentives to help VW expand its Chattanooga operations.”

The office of the governor has enough money to influence Volkswagen with $300 million in tax breaks, but not $72 million to raise teacher salaries? Is Haslam more concerned with fighting unions than raising salaries for teachers and state workers?

The governor of a state without a strong opposition party can break all the promises he wants. He can withhold raises, take on unions or whatever he sees fit.

The governor is in office through the will of the people. If the people don’t want him there, they can vote him out. Of course, Tennessee’s Democratic Party can’t answer the call.

It’s now too late for the Democrats to qualify any big-named candidates to run against Haslam in the November election.

With Haslam’s personal wealth, which he used to loan his campaign millions of dollars during his gubernatorial campaign of four years ago, no one wants to take him on.

It’s nice to be in the 1 percent, but it doesn’t help the governor understand how much a 1 or 2 percent raise can mean to a family living in Tennessee. As people in his tax bracket continue to get tax cuts, teachers and state workers get nothing.

One day, the voters of Tennessee might elect someone who understands the importance of a paycheck. Maybe then, the tax breaks will stop and our education system will prosper.