Open Modal

State Dems introduce bill to boost public teacher pay

sen-leding-rep-mccullough-ark-dem-submitted
sen-leding-rep-mccullough-ark-dem-submitted
Featured image: Senate Minority Leader Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville), House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock)

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would raise starting pay for Arkansas public school teachers to $50,000. The bill would also include a $10,000 raise for every public school teacher in Arkansas.

In a release Thursday touting the Raising Arkansas’s Investment in Schools and Educators (RAISE) Act of 2023, state Democrats said a companion bill had also been filed that would raise the minimum staff pay for all classified staff — bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitorial staff, and other staff — in public schools from $11 an hour to $15 an hour.

According to the release, Democrats noted that “…Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders requested a teacher pay raise bill in her inaugural address to a joint session of the 94th General Assembly saying, ‘If you send me a bill that rewards our teachers with higher pay, I will sign it.’”

“Arkansas teachers are paid worse than their peers in every other southern state. With the RAISE Act, we can right this wrong and deliver a huge win for our children in Arkansas’s public schools,” said Senate Minority Leader Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville). “We also know that our dedicated and hardworking staff, who make our schools run every day, deserve a raise. And that’s exactly what our staff pay bill will do. Right now, there is a majority in this legislature that wants pay raises for teachers and support staff. Together with these two bills, we can build a brighter Arkansas for every child.”

“The Governor said she wanted a teacher pay raise bill because she knows the dire need of our public schools,” said House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock). “Well, here are the two bills that will take Arkansas from the worst-in-the-South to the very best. Let’s get this done for our children and families.”

The release from the press office for the Arkansas Democratic Party highlighted key points of the RAISE Act and the classified staff pay bill:

  • The RAISE Act will cost $350 million for the $10,000 raise and a one-time cost of $30 million to help districts meet the new minimum salary of $50,000.
  • The classified raise comes from a House recommendation out of the educational adequacy study to raise the per-pupil foundation amount for non-teacher employees. Our classified staff pay bill doubles the initial recommendation of a $2/hr raise to $4/hr. We achieve this raise with an $89 increase per pupil, which is around $42 million total.
  • When compared to surrounding states and the south, Arkansas has the lowest average starting salaries for teachers. (Texas – $44,527; Louisiana – $42,185; Alabama – $41,163; Tennessee – $39,024; Mississippi – $36,653 – source: National Education Association)

 

Click here to read more about Senate Bill 149 and here to read about House Bill 1268.

At a rally promoting school choice last week at the State Capitol, Sanders pushed for an overhaul of state education policy.

“We’re working very closely with our partners in the Legislature, and we will reform education in a way no state has ever done in this country, and we will be the leader for the United States,” she said at the rally.

Arkansas LEARNS, the plan endorsed by the governor, aims “…to improve literacy, increase workforce readiness and ’empower parents with more choices,'” according to an article from Arkansas Advocate.

The article quoted Sanders as saying legislation addressing the goals of her education initiative will be rolled out in the coming weeks.

Image submitted

Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ. White River Now updates are also aired weekday mornings on 93 KZLEOutlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5

Recommended Posts

Loading...