Missouri considers raising teacher pay to increase retention
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Half of Missouri teachers leave the profession by their fifth year, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The state is hoping increased salaries will prevent that. The DESE has proposed several ways to extend pay raises for teachers.
Missouri still sits at the bottom nationwide when it comes to teacher salaries. This prompted Gov. Mike Parson to make raising starting teacher pay a priority last year. The state-matched grant was passed, and over 6,300 teachers across 350 school districts use the grant. The state pays for 70% and school districts must cover the rest, but the state money is not permanent.
In its 2023 budget requests, the DESE is asking the state to continue programs, like the pay grant and Career Ladder, that increase teacher salaries.
"It's really nothing more than a supply and demand issue. We have a higher demand because more and more teachers are leaving the profession," DESE spokeswoman Mallory McGowin said.
The largest school district in Mid-Missouri, Columbia Public Schools, loses between 200-300 employees each year. CPS spokesperson Michelle Baumstark said it is always trying to expand the talent pool through recruiting. CPS established the idea of Grow Your Own in 2015, and implemented it in 2016.
The program, called CoMoEd in Columbia, encourages well-performing students to explore education as a career path. The first graduating class of CoMoEd started teaching last year.
However, Baumstark said teachers are not the biggest challenge for the district.
"Our challenge remains in filling positions in the areas of paraprofessionals, classroom aides, custodial services, and nutrition services," Baumstark said in an email.
State Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly) filed a bill that would raise the minimum teacher pay. In Missouri, it's currently $25,000. Lewis's bill would raise it to $33,000 for the 2024-2025 school year, and continue raising it based on inflation.
Lewis and other state lawmakers will reconvene in Jefferson City for the 2023 Missouri legislative session on Jan. 4.
