Governor Greg Abbott recognized the importance of teacher pay in Texas and how it directly affects students’ success. This issue was communicated in Abbott’s State of the State address announcing it as an emergency item to the Texas Legislature.
“An essential element to better education for our kids is having the best teachers,” Abbott said. “One thing we must do this session to attract and to keep the best teachers is to increase their pay.”
“We want to make sure that our teachers are on a pathway to earning a six-figure salary in some opportunities but also that we increase the average teacher salary to an all-time record in the state of Texas,” Abbott added. “That’s why I am making increasing teacher pay an emergency item this session.”
In a comprehensive release, the Abbott administration recorded the efforts already made by the Texas government.
“Texas Incentive Allotment program in 2019 provided over $575 million in merit-based pay raises to more than 25,000 teachers through the program and invested over $500 million to enhance the state’s public school curriculum to give teachers more time to focus on instruction, support students and reduce lesson planning burdens,” the release states.
The release also provided a framework of how the Texas governor will increase teachers. Some of the ways that the Texas Legislature hopes to improve teachers’ salaries include “[waiving] of fees for certification in high-need areas like special education and bilingual education” and “[investing] in high-quality teacher preparation pathways, including teacher residencies, apprenticeships and grow your own programs.”
Multiple school districts have come forward with statements regarding the Governor’s recent announcement.
North East ISD:
“We are in favor of a teacher pay increase, and we are also in favor of support staff getting an increase too. There are many people in a school district that are instrumental to a child’s education, including custodians, school nutrition staff and bus drivers, just to name a few”
Northside ISD:
“We welcome an increase in teacher salaries and an elevation of the teaching profession. Teachers take on one of the most important responsibilities in our society: educating our next generation. Paying teachers a professional salary aligned with their critical role is the right thing to do and is also necessary to improve student performance and our economic future.”
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD:
“In SCUC, we believe competitive pay is essential to attracting and retaining the high-quality teachers who are and will shape the future of our students. We remain committed to advocating for pay that reflects their dedication. Our teachers, just like school districts and families around the state, are dealing with the effects of double-digit inflation that continue to eat away at their hard-earned paycheck. Therefore, we appreciate the Governor’s focus on increasing teacher compensation and expanding programs that support educators. We look forward to seeing how the elements of this “emergency item” develop during the legislative session. We will continue communicating with our state leaders to ensure these investments directly benefit our educators who are making a difference daily in the lives and futures of our students.”
Teacher pay was only one of many topics discussed in Abbott’s address. This is still a developing story.
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