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Subcommittee reviews House changes raising starting teacher salary to $48,500 and related funding
Summary
A Senate subcommittee reviewed House amendments that raise the proposed starting teacher salary from $47,000 to $48,500, consolidate lanes on the salary schedule and add recurring and EIA funding; the panel did not take a final funding vote but asked staff to conform language to final appropriations.
The Senate Education Provisos Subcommittee on Friday reviewed House amendments that raise a proposed starting teacher salary from $47,000 to $48,500 and consolidate two bachelor-level salary lanes into one.
The changes, presented to the panel by Grant (staff member), also include new funding adjustments: an increase of $80,000,000 in recurring general fund dollars and $32,000,000 in EIA (Education Improvement Act) funds tied to the state aid-to-classroom proviso. Grant described those dollar changes as the House’s packet adjustments and said fiscal-year references and per-pupil counts were updated accordingly.
Why it matters: the starting salary and lane consolidation affect teacher pay scales statewide and determine how recurring and EIA dollars are allocated to school districts. The subcommittee emphasized that technical language will be conformed to the final funding spreadsheet before enactment.
During discussion, subcommittee members asked staff to confirm calculations and whether past funding shortfalls had been rectified for other programs tied to salary or pilot work. Staff said the proviso amendments would address future funding but would not retroactively resolve last year’s unpaid obligations.
The panel did not record a separate final roll-call vote on the salary-change language during this session. Members instructed staff to “conform to funding,” meaning the text will be updated to match the final appropriation amounts in the fiscal spreadsheet prior to inclusion in the budget.
More detail: The packet presented to the subcommittee combined two bachelor-degree pay lanes into a single lane and updated the salary schedule references and per‑pupil counts. Grant told the panel the House added the $80,000,000 recurring general‑fund increase and $32,000,000 in EIA tied to the state aid-to-classroom proviso.
The subcommittee scheduled additional proviso meetings and asked staff to prepare technical cleanups and to circulate any member provisos for review at subsequent meetings.
Ending: The panel moved on to other provisos and set a continued meeting for 10 a.m. the next day; staff will return with conforming language and the spreadsheet that reflects final dollar allocations.
