These Governors Are Calling for Teacher Pay Raises
These Governors Are Calling for Teacher Pay Raises
Amid threatened teacher strikes and budget surpluses, more than 20 governors this year have recommended that their state boost teachers’ pay, according to an Education Week analysis of State of the State addresses.
In states across the South and West—including in Arizona, Idaho, and West Virginia, where chronically low teacher pay has inflamed teacher shortages and caused political angst—governors are urging legislators in proposed budgets to provide teachers next year with anywhere from a 2 percent raise in North Dakota to a 20 percent raise in Arizona.
Other governors, such as in Arkansas and Maine, want to raise their state’s minimum pay for teachers.
There’s no guarantee that all teachers will get a pay raise this fall even if governors push for it. Some states, such as Nevada and Pennsylvania, don’t have statewide teacher pay scales, so it’s up to districts to actually allocate any extra money toward teacher pay.
Map: Governors' Teacher Pay Proposals at a Glance
Related Reading
- Teacher Pay: How Salaries, Pensions, and Benefits Work in Schools
- Teaching: Some Global Comparisons
- Nearly Half of Public School Teachers Are Satisfied With Their Salaries, Data Show
- In Their Own Words: Teachers Share the Personal Cost of Low Pay
Reporting & Analysis: Daarel Burnette II, Madeline Will, and Maya Riser-Kositsky
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to raise teachers’ pay.
A version of this article appeared in the February 27, 2019 edition of Education Week as Teacher Salary Concerns Spotlighted by Governors
