Posted: | March 25, 2019 01:18 PM |
---|---|
From: | Senator Judith L. Schwank |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | 45k minimum teacher salary |
I will shortly introduce legislation that will increase the minimum teacher salary in Pennsylvania from $18,500 to $45,000. The education professionals helped by the minimum salary proposal are currently not earning enough to raise a small family and pay their college debt. Given the crucial role teachers play in the lives of students, they shouldn’t have to scrape to make ends meet. This proposal demonstrates respect for professional educators by providing them with a wage that is more in line with what similarly educated professionals earn. In 2017, the statewide median salary of Pennsylvanians with bachelor’s degrees was $47,470. My bill would:
3. Ensure that all professional educators are covered. – This proposal ensures that educator-type employees—like social workers, psychologists, and therapists—who are employed in professional positions, would be legally recognized as “professional employees” and would be included in minimum salary requirements. This legislation would NOT require collective bargaining agreements be reopened to reflect the new salaries. There is nothing in the bill that would require current contracts to be modified, only that the educators earning under $45K in school year 19-20 be paid $45K. The school entity would receive the state funding to cover the difference between $45K and what the employee would have been paid in 2019-20 and will then pay that amount as a supplement to the employee. Moreover, my bill would ensure the qualifying school entities’ supplemental funding is locked in as part of their basic education funding base. Under a normal contract, teachers move up one step toward the top “step” each year. In 2020-21, the salary increases required to bring employees up to $45K would decrease due to normal step movement. However, the minimum salary supplement would become part of a district’s BEF base in the first year and each year thereafter. Finally, given the limited scope of this proposal it is my intention to solve the specific and narrow problem of teacher retention in certain locations. Much like when the minimum salary was increased 30 years ago, I do not anticipate this increase will have a broader impact on educator salaries above $45,000. Please join me cosponsoring this very important legislation. |
Introduced as SB656