Proposed base pay increase could incentivize Missouri teachers

By Jazmine Knight

Gov. Mike Parson proposed a $15,000 increase to the minimum pay for Missouri teachers in his State of the State address, which could be the first step in improving teacher retention in the state. 

Currently the base pay for teachers in Missouri is about $25,000. Parson’s proposed increase would make it $40,000.

The Missouri Legislature still hasn’t passed last year’s proposal budget to increase pay to $38,000. If not passed by June 30, this means the base pay will remain at $25,000. 

Todd Fuller with the Missouri State Teachers Association said that even with that increase, Missouri would still be behind other states. 

“When you look at every state that borders Missouri, at $40,000, we’re still going to be the lowest starting salary for teachers in the bordering states,” Fuller said.

Even when it comes to average salary, Missouri still trails behind. Missouri comes in at 50th in the nation for average salary, sitting at $34,052, according to the National Education Association. 

With the history of low salaries for teachers in Missouri, Fuller expressed concern about recruitment and retention. 

“We’ve had several teachers, several members of ours that leave the profession in the middle of a school year. And they’re not concerned about any ramifications because they’re going to find and they are finding better salaries and better opportunities.

“I mean, teachers are not entering the profession necessarily because they can’t think of anything else,” he continued. “They’re passionate about the opportunity to work with students, and a lot of them are reluctantly leaving education because they need to provide for their families.”

One major problem in education is losing teachers to other higher-paying professions.

“If we can give teachers a competitive salary with other professions, then they’re going to consider education more often than they would have otherwise, because in many cases, that’s their passion,” Fuller said.

Also included in Parson’s budget proposal is a $120.6 million increase to fully fund the education foundation formula and $14 million to fully fund school transportation. 

“If we’re going to fully fund transportation with an increase, then that means that districts aren’t going to have to look towards funding the other areas that they didn’t have the finances for in the first place,” Fuller said. “So not only would they be able to increase starting salaries, but they would also be able to do something that is every bit as important, which is making sure that we’re paying experienced teachers in the profession what they deserve as well.”