We Did it: Governors want to boost teacher pay

Jan 24, 2022

SHOW ME THE MONEY — America's governors are eyeing big spending plans for the coming year. Bumping up educator pay is one appealing idea for Republican and Democratic leaders alike, as yearly statehouse lawmaking sessions start and several governors face re-election bids this fall.

— Your host reviewed a series of gubernatorial budget proposals, plus their annual addresses to lawmakers and legislative priorities for the year, to get a sense of what's on tap for schools. Their ideas often reflect education's partisan politics. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are promoting teacher bonuses as they stoke classroom culture wars. Kentucky's Democratic governor is meanwhile sparring with the state's Republican-controlled legislature over a teacher pay plan.

— Two things are clear: Bigger teacher salaries and one-time worker bonuses are now priorities. And states have plenty to spend on a range of local services, including education. That's largely thanks to a surge of federal Covid-19 aid that has few strings attached. A major Wall Street credit rating firm, in one example, estimates states have planned for roughly half of $350 billion in state and local recovery funds doled out under the American Rescue Plan.

— "A much smaller share has actually been spent, with most allocations spanning multiple years," Fitch Ratings said in a recent report . That leaves ample cushion to ease budget turbulence in the states, and maybe build out more education spending in the near term.

IT'S MONDAY, JAN. 24. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. Here's something to watch out for this tax season: many taxpayers are receiving IRS letters with incorrect child tax credit amounts. The errors could lead to refund delays and other headaches.

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In the States

CASHING IN — Permanent pay raises, if enacted, could help states with low teacher pay get up to speed with neighboring regions and recruit workers to high-needs areas. One-time bonuses are a temporary 'thank-you', though they may boost beleaguered workers on the job today.

— The slow march of the legislative process still means proposed pay hikes won't take effect immediately, and ease virus-driven staffing pressures that have governors and school principals calling on parents or National Guardsmen to fill in as bus drivers and substitute teachers. With that in mind, here's a sample of what governors and lawmakers have on tap.

ALABAMA — Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said teachers should get what she called a "well-deserved" 4 percent pay increase, as she laid out her spending proposal for the coming year and prepares for her state's primary election.

— Been here before: Ivey and Alabama lawmakers last year approved a 2 percent pay bump for K-12 and higher education officials. State finance officials have said Ivey's latest proposal for school staff will bring the starting teacher salary to $43,357, and cost $180 million.

— "The job of teachers is no small task," said Ivey, who worked as a high school civics teacher after graduating college, to lawmakers this month . "During the height of Covid, parents witnessed firsthand the adjustments and the obstacles that faced our educators.

GEORGIA — Boosting teacher pay was one plank of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp's 2018 bid for his state's highest office. Now educator raises are again part of Kemp's big-spending education proposals for the coming year, as he also calls on lawmakers to address classroom lessons on race and "obscene materials" in school libraries.

— What's in it for teachers: First, Kemp's proposed amendments to the state's FY 2022 budget would allot roughly $346 million on one-time bonuses of $2,000 for full-time instructional staff and administrators — and a $1,000 payment for bus drivers, school nurses and other part-time school workers. Then, Kemp wants to carve out another $287 million in the state's FY 2023 budget to nudge base salaries for certified educators up by $2,000.

— "I believe that we as state leaders must continue to do everything we can to ensure [educators] have the resources necessary to fulfill their mission," Kemp said of his proposed raises.

IDAHO — Republican Gov. Brad Little has called for a roughly $300 million budget boost for public schools as part of his FY 2023 budget , while he stares down a tough re-election fight against a bevy of GOP candidates that include his administration's lieutenant governor.

— What's in it for teachers: Little's proposal would spend $104 million to help finance a 10 percent teacher pay increase, according to the governor's office. Another $105 million in spending would boost the state's contributions for teacher health insurance premiums, and Little's also proposed using $17.8 million to hand out $1,000 bonuses to all teachers. A separate 5 percent pay hike would be in store for some non-teacher school workers.

— "If you're running a business, you know you can only attract and retain dedicated, quality workers by paying them competitively, offering good benefits, and making them feel valued," Little told lawmakers earlier this month during his annual state budget address. "Our educator workforce is no different."

KENTUCKY — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear recently unveiled plans to add nearly $2 billion to the state's education budget. The bid included calls for a minimum 5 percent pay rate increase for all school personnel, a local educator student loan forgiveness program, plus sweeping plans for the rest of the state's education system.

— Beshear's rivals have their own plans: Last week, with the start of Kentucky's state legislative session barely underway, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives approved a competing budget that expands some education spending but wouldn't require the raises Beshear has in mind.

— The budget now faces negotiations in the state Senate, and it's not clear how Beshear's priorities will fare.

MISSISSIPPI — "First thing's first," declared Republican Gov. Tate Reeves' in his proposed budget for the coming year. "Mississippi's teachers deserve a raise." Money is at the center of the administration's plans to recruit and retain educators in the low-paying Southern state.

— What's in it for teachers: Reeves wanted $71 million to help finance an immediate $1,300-per-year pay increase and called for a total of $2,000 worth of additional raises during the next two years.

— Legislators want more: The Mississippi Senate on Friday approved its own teacher pay bill, which would offer even bigger raises than Reeves proposed. House lawmakers have approved their own competing measure, opening an interesting debate in the Republican-controlled legislature while the governor's separate calls to eliminate "critical race theory" in classrooms boil tensions at the capitol. K-12 schools rarely teach the theory, even in districts where lawmakers seek to ban it.

NEW MEXICO — Teachers and union officials rallied at Santa Fe's capitol building on Sunday to protest the state's long-running educator shortages, days after Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called on National Guard personnel and state workers to volunteer as substitute educators amid a virus-prompted staffing crunch.

— The protests landed at a delicate time for Lujan Grisham. She's up for re-election, and has a rising profile in the Democratic Party. She's also pushing a major school spending push that would also swell teacher salaries in the state.

— Grisham has proposed spending $277 million to bring minimum teacher salaries between a range of $50,000 and $70,000, and provide 7 percent salary increases to public school teachers and staff. The governor's office says those increases would make New Mexico teachers the highest-paid of any neighboring state. A separate $10.5 million proposal would help teachers pay for college and pay off loans.

— "They deserve it, and we can afford it, and it's the right thing to do," she said during her annual state address.

Children's Health

WHAT'S NEXT FOR SCHOOL MASKS IN VIRGINIA? One final reminder to start the week: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's executive order to let parents opt students out of school mask requirements takes effect today.

— But the Republican is urging parents to "listen to their principal" for now, as a group of schools say they plan to keep mask requirements in place and a legal battle over Youngkin's authority plays out before the state's high court.

— "Executive Order 2 is not about pro-masks versus anti-mask, it's about empowering parents," Youngkin said in a brief statement on Friday. "I am confident that the Virginia Supreme Court will rule in the favor of parents," he said. "In the meantime, I urge all parents to listen to their principal, and trust the legal process."

— Youngkin's bit of deference to schools was accompanied by updated guidance from the Virginia Department of Public Health, which says there are "benefits and costs" to wearing masks in schools and notes there is "presently a lack of consensus among health experts" about those benefits and costs.

— Notably, the health agency's guidance still suggests students isolate or quarantine for 10 full days, if they're not willing to wear masks in school five days after testing positive or showing symptoms.

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