Jetton makes case for higher teacher pay

In his latest capitol report, Speaker of the House Rod Jetton makes the case for higher pay for Missouri teachers:

You can have the most expensive state of the art classroom, with computers at every desk, the newest books and school supplies, but if you don't have a good teacher at the head of the classroom then the kids in it won't learn anything. On the other hand if you have an old school, with old books and supplies, but the teacher is top notche then those kids are going to learn something.

The point I am trying to make is teachers matter. The key for making sure all Missouri children receive an excellent education is to make sure all Missouri teachers are excellent. A good teacher can make all the difference in the life of a child and the state government should do all it can to make sure good, quality teachers are in all of our classrooms.

Based on the average teacher salary Missouri ranks 44th in the nation. I believe that is entirely too low. We are not going to be able to attract the right individuals to the teaching field unless their pay is increased. The bottom line is that to attract and keep excellent teachers we need to make sure we pay them a good wage for the critically important task they do, educating our children.

To fix this problem I have filed HB 2040, which will raise the minimum teacher pay in Missouri. Minimum teacher pay will go from $23,000 for a first year teacher with a Bachelor's degree to $31,000. While pay for a first year teacher with a Master's degree will go from $24,000 to $33,000. My bill also lays a step program that will see a teacher's salary increase overtime based on experience.

Many school districts in rural areas are going to have trouble raising the minimum teacher pay from their tax base alone. Therefore the state government will help supplement their teacher pay to ensure the pay is increased. We have to help our small school districts that do not have the tax base of our larger, suburban districts pay for increased teacher pay.

I believe by raising minimum teacher pay we will be able to improve our children's performance in the classroom. Good teachers make all the difference and raising teacher pay makes sure our kids get those good teachers.

Over the past four years the General Assembly has added half a billion dollars in new funding for secondary and elementary education. That is an enormous amount of money. However, during the past four years, even though we added half a billion dollars, teacher pay has not increased. It is time for that to change. I might also add that Missouri is currently facing a teacher shortage. I hope by raising teacher minimum pay we can encourage more people to take up teaching as a profession.

I think all elected official have three priorities that they must constantly work on. Protecting Missouri's citizens, keeping the economy growing, and finally educating our children to ensure Missouri has a bright tomorrow. Minimum teacher pay will help to ensure our classrooms have the best possible individuals teaching in them. This in turn will ensure the best our kids have the best education possible.