Missouri teachers are among lowest paid in the nation, but they soon could get a raise
Missouri’s lowest-earning teachers will likely get a pay bump this year.
The state’s minimum salary for starting teachers currently sits at $25,000, among the lowest in the country. That figure could rise to $38,000 under the upcoming year’s state budget that Gov. Mike Parson has to sign by Friday.
A joint committee of House and Senate members voted Wednesday to restore the funding, intended to retain and recruit K-12 educators. Teacher pay, which lags far behind national averages, was among Parson’s priorities in his recommended budget. But the previous spending plans approved by the House had slashed the governor’s recommendation.
Committee members also cemented Parson’s recommendations to fully fund Missouri’s portion of school transportation costs for the first time in decades and to pay for the state’s retirement system.
Another highlight on Wednesday was the committee’s decision to maintain a $500,000 cut to Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office. The Senate had previously decided to withhold the money in response to Schmitt’s decision to sue dozens of districts earlier this year over COVID-19 mask mandates.
The boost to teacher pay, a compromise among lawmakers, comes as the state is flush, largely due to federal pandemic aid. Lawmakers have stressed the need to retain educators as the state experiences a critical teacher shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and low pay.
Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden previously told reporters that the state’s starting wage was causing teachers to leave the profession.
“You really have to feel called to do it,” Rowden said last month. He said boosting state funding to retain teachers was “the right thing to do.”
According to a teacher salary benchmark report by the National Education Association, Missouri teachers make $51,557 a year on average — ranking 47th in the country. And the state is tied for last in the nation for starting teacher pay, averaging $33,234.
The report found that insufficient pay was one of the primary reasons school districts across the country have struggled retaining teachers. An estimated 55% of teachers are planning to leave the profession earlier than anticipated, the report found.
Under the compromise budget, the teacher pay boost will cost the state roughly $31 million from its general revenue fund this fiscal year. The state will pay 70% of the costs and local school districts will pay the remaining 30%.
The state’s budget, which will allocate state funding starting July 1, also adds $214 million toward school transportation costs — $100 million more than the House’s version of the budget.
Once the joint committee signs off on the budget changes, it will head to each chamber for a final vote. If there are no changes, it will go to the governor’s desk. According to the Missouri Constitution, the budget must be approved by 6 p.m. Friday.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 5:09 PM.
