Pay raise proposed for Missouri teachers

In his 2022 State of the State Address, Gov. Mike Parson suggested raising the starting pay for teachers in the Show-Me state. The cost noted in the proposed budget calls for $21.8 million to be invested in the effort.

Parson proposed millions to also boost child care services in addition to teacher wages, asking the legislature for $722 million to prop up child care centers and the $21.8 million for matching grants to raise teacher salaries to a minimum of $38,000 a year.

“Missouri is currently ranked 50th in United States for starting teacher pay and half of our new teachers leave the profession by their fifth year,” Parson said. “This is unacceptable, and we must do better.”

Among Parson’s top priorities for the 2022 legislative session include a 5.5 percent pay raise for state workers to be implemented as soon as February. He asked lawmakers for an extra $91 million to bring state worker pay to a minimum of $15 an hour for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends in May.

Parson’s total budget request to lawmakers is a hefty $46.7 billion, support by roughly $2.8 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act coronavirus relief funding. The current fiscal year budget is about $35 billion.