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Committee hears competing recommendations on educator pay, minimums and pipeline fellowships
Summary
The executive, LFC and LESC budgets differ on salary increases for educators and on sustaining the educator fellows pipeline; LFC proposes 4% compensation increase while LESC and the executive propose 3%, and the department warned loss of federal funding will shrink educator fellow participation without a state appropriation.
Legislative analysts and the Public Education Department on Wednesday described differences in compensation proposals and the future of teacher pipelines, including the educator fellows program and teacher residencies.
The executive and the Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) recommended a 3% salary increase for education personnel; the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) recommended 4%. The salary difference accounts for tens of millions of dollars in the recurring budget totals.
LESC staff noted proposed minimums for teacher pay at three career levels — $55,000, $65,000 and $75,000 for levels 1, 2 and 3 — and stated that the LFC figure is higher because of its larger compensation recommendation. The Public Education Department highlighted persistent vacancy pressures: "As you all know, we still have over 700 educator vacancies in the state," the secretary said, and recommended continuing the educator fellows program after federal startup funds end.
The educator fellows program provides local, in‑service supports for pre‑service teachers and paraeducators who work alongside licensed teachers while pursuing credentials. The secretary said the program’s federal funding ends this year and warned a loss of the federal grant would reduce the pipeline unless the Legislature funds the program. Committee members described local examples of the program improving retention and urged support for recurring funding.
Lawmakers asked whether separate proposals to raise the minimum pay for all school employees (a committee bill to set a $30,000 minimum) would cover bus drivers and non‑instructional staff; staff confirmed that such a bill would apply to all school employees if enacted but was not included in the base budget figures presented.
Committee members requested more detail on compensation modeling and the programs that feed new educators into rural and hard‑to‑staff schools; staff and the department said they will provide follow‑up figures at the next meeting.
