For Jefferson City area schools, Gov. Mike Parson's pay raise plan for teachers would be a mixed bag.
For some, it's a nonissue, since all their teachers make more than the proposed minimum. For others, it could be unattainable, considering the amount of local funding the district would have to dedicate to the pay raises.
In his State of the State address, Parson presented a plan to raise teacher pay using lottery funds to bring the minimum salary up from $25,000 to $38,000.
The proposal has been lauded on both sides of the aisle as a tremendous "first step." But for many, questions remain about whether it is the best way to truly help teachers.
The proposal would provide 70 percent of the supplement to bring teacher salaries up from a minimum of $25,000 to $38,000 and would require a 30 percent match from local districts. It would be an ongoing expense, but the program is voluntary. Parson's budget recommendation includes almost $22 million for the grant program.
Mallory McGowin, DESE's chief communications officer, said out of 555 education agencies in Missouri, 527 have at least one teacher who makes less than $38,000 -- 94 percent of school districts.
Around 8,500 teachers could be affected by the salary raise.
"The governor's recommendation is a first step in addressing teacher pay in our state, as Missouri currently ranks 50th in the nation in average starting teacher salary ($32,970)," McGowin said. "The recommendation at this time is to increase the annual salary to $38,000 for anyone making less than that amount. It would then be up to local school leaders and boards of education to determine if they have enough local revenue to allow them to increase pay for all steps/phases of their local salary schedule.
"There are a number of details that will continue to be discussed, and compression and the impact to (district) salary schedules are certainly among those complex issues," she said.
A minimal effect for some
For some schools around Jefferson City, the plan would have no effect.
Jefferson City Public Schools and Blair Oaks School District likely will be above the proposed minimum next school year.
Tim Thompson, human resource manager for the Jefferson City School District, said, "Fortunately, we are well ahead of that game. Our starting salary already exceeds that $38,000 threshold, so I think we're kind of ahead of the game and always looking to keep moving in that direction."
The starting salary for JC Schools is $38,200, and Thompson said he expects it to be significantly higher next year.
Raising pay to keep competitive with other districts is always on the mind, he said.
"A district that doesn't do that with the shortage of teachers that we have, 40 percent fewer ... people going into the profession, I think if you don't think that way, you will be left in the lurch," Thompson said.
Jefferson City is currently the third highest-paying district in central Missouri, while Blair Oaks is number six.
At Blair Oaks, the base salary this year is $37,150, and only one staff member currently makes less than the proposed $38,000.
"With annual advancement of staff on the salary schedule, it is likely that no teacher in the district will be under the proposed minimum for the 2022-2023 school year," Superintendent Jim Jones said in an email.
"The base salary in the Blair Oaks R-2 School District has increased from $25,000 during the 2003-2004 school year to its current level of $37,150 through incremental annual increases that average $645 per year," he wrote.
Jones said while he's often focused on just Blair Oaks, he also must think of the state.
"I am not sure what the answer is, but it would be great to have a winning solution for each and every school district in the state and the state as a whole," he said.
Legislators have expressed a similar desire to make sure everyone wins.
During a budget hearing, Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, said: "What I would rather see is help to give raises to all of our teachers at all of our schools."
He said he was thinking of school districts that might have to directly compete with neighboring states.
"I don't want to understate how strongly I agree with that first step and effort," Merideth said. "I mean, I want our teachers to make more. I just want to do it in a fair way that actually raises all of our teachers' salaries, not one that actually rewards schools that maybe have low local tax rates and so have been underpaying their teachers more egregiously and then the state's going to come in and help them catch up to everyone else. But we're not going to do anything to then help the schools that have been paying more of their local funds for better teacher pay."
Too costly for some districts?
While some districts, like Jefferson City, are already paying their teachers more than the minimum, for others, the grant program may be out of reach.
At Cole R-5 in Eugene, the starting pay is $30,457, meaning a jump to $38,000 would be significant.
Considering 60 percent of Eugene's staff is paid less than $38,000 right now, a plan requiring a 30 percent match from the local school district would be a struggle.
It would be "pretty difficult on our budget to make that work," Superintendent Charley Burch said.
Burch said the staff contains a number of veteran teachers, several of whom are at or near retirement. He said no one believes more firmly that teachers need to be paid more, but it is frustrating to see teachers who have taught for more than 25 years and have a master's degree making a similar paycheck to recent graduates.
Eugene raised base pay by more than $800. It also offers significant insurance benefits, Burch said.
Burch said he's not sure if the current plan is the best way to help teachers right now.
"I'm all about wanting to get our teachers raises, for sure," Burch said.
He said he appreciates the governor's effort, but he wants to make sure it's done in a way that's not going to be "detrimental" to his district financially.
Burch said the change would "absolutely" create wage compression and would not reward veteran teachers who have worked for several years to get to where they are.
Like Burch, Superintendent Perry Gorrell, of Cole R-1 in Russellville, worries the plan could also create problems by compressing its salary schedule and lessening the benefits for experienced teachers.
With a base pay of $32,500, first-year Russsellvile teachers would see a jump of $5,500 under the governor's plan.
Gorell said it's unclear how the proposal would affect Russellville's salary schedule, but he applauds the governor's effort.
Yet he wants to do something to help veteran teachers, too.
About 20 out of Russellville's 50 teachers are paid below $38,000. If the district covered that cost and adjusted its salary schedule accordingly, Gorrell said, it could be looking at moving back to $200 steps instead of $500 steps for each teacher.
School districts pay workers according to a salary schedule that uses steps. Pay increases at each step according to years of experience and education, so veteran teachers are paid more than new teachers according to their years of experience.
Gorrell said it's obvious the district has to attract new people.
"But we can't forget our veteran teachers as well," he said.
Over the past few years, Russellville has raised its base pay by $1,000. Another thing that's important to remember, Gorrell said, is that the cost of the health insurance the district provides its staff continues to rise, and the salary and health insurance come out of the same pool of money. If the base pay rose, it could affect the amount of money available for insurance.
Several lawmakers have also raised the issue of wage compression because the state would not provide funds for raising pay for teachers who are above the minimum pay.
Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, inquired whether the budget proposal could be changed to reflect a $10,000 raise across the board and said she'd like to discuss the possibility with DESE further.
Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith agreed with other members of the committee that the method of getting teachers the resources they needed warranted a "lengthy discussion."
Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, addressing the remarks of some representatives that Missouri ranked near the bottom nationally for state funding for education, said: "Local control breeds a responsibility of local funding."
"Yes, we are 49th in state funding, but we are in the middle of the pack in average per-head funding when you take all the funding streams into consideration," he added, meaning when considering local funding as well, Missouri's education system keeps pace with other states for funding per student in school.
Recruitment, retention tool
Parson has touted the raise as an effort in teacher recruitment and retention. And while pay is an important factor in recruitment and retention, Jefferson City area schools said there's more to it than that.
Burch said that during the pandemic, there have been other factors that play into recruitment and retention, namely support for the profession.
There's been a "lot of support for educators and teachers and appreciation, and now that we're coming into our third year of this, I think educators are seen in a different light at times, and there's not as much support as there once was," he said.
Teachers must shoulder more of the burden as they face a lack of volunteers, PTO involvement and opportunities for activities during the day such as field trips.
Gorrell said respect for education is a big factor in recruitment and retention these days.
"Teachers used to be a highly respected position. That's no longer like it used to be," he said, calling it the "biggest flip" he's seen in his 30 years in education.
He said education is a calling, and many teachers enter the profession because they have a passion for teaching and making a difference for students. Hearing about the politicization of education wears on everyone, he said.
Education has been in the spotlight at the state Capitol, with bills seeking to increase parental control of curriculum, block the teaching of Critical Race Theory, and limit school districts' control over health measures such as masking.