Politics Pulls Teacher Pay to Forefront

Surging Revenues Cited By Governors in Plans

Teachers may reap rewards on payday during the upcoming school year, thanks to increasingly flush state coffers and the political dynamics of an election year.

Governors from both political parties, in many of the 36 states holding gubernatorial elections in the fall, are urging their legislatures to raise pay for teachers or give them cash incentives to improve their own skills and boost their students’ performance.

The proposals include across-the-board raises in Alabama and New Mexico and a hike in the minimum salary in Arizona. The governors of Alaska and Mississippi are pitching employee bonuses tied to...