Many teachers and para-professionals in Iowa will see a pay increase starting next school year. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that would bring the minimum teacher pay in the state up to $50,000 within the next two years.
- The minimum starting pay for Iowa teachers is currently about $33,000 a year, but starting next school year that will rise to $47,500. The following year, $50,000. A teacher with 12 years of experience will make at least $60,000 annually.
- Iowa State Education Association Executive Director Coy Marquardt welcomed the change: “Finally, the legislature is addressing it after 15 years of not..”
- “The urban schools scoop up the rural teachers because they can pay more. This will allow them to be a little bit more competitive,” Rep. Brent Siegrist said.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Teachers and paraeducators in Iowa, especially those in smaller districts, are about to see a big boost to their starting salaries.
I’m Katrina Markel, your southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an education bill into law. One provision, raising pay for teachers and support professionals, has relatively widespread support.
Iowa State Education Association Executive Director Coy Marquardt welcomed the change: “Finally, the legislature is addressing it after 15 years of not..”
The minimum starting pay for Iowa teachers is currently about $33,000 a year, but starting next school year that will rise to $47,500. The following year, $50,000. A teacher with 12 years of experience will make at least $60,000 annually.
Council Bluffs State Representative, Republican Brent Siegrist, supports the wage increase, even though the large districts he represents already meet the new minimum salaries.
“The urban schools scoop up the rural teachers because they can pay more. This will allow them to be a little bit more competitive,” he said.
Lewis Central, on the outskirts of Council Bluffs, already starts teachers above the $47,500 threshold, but the superintendent says some teachers with more than 12 years experience may see a bump.
How the new law is implemented by the state, says Marquardt, is still unknown.
“ ... Our message to our local members: we're going to encourage them to work with their local administrators, school boards ... to make sure that everybody gets the compensation that they deserve to the extent that’s possible,” he said.
Another provision in the education law, a more controversial one, makes changes to the funding model for the Area Education Agencies, which provide special education and other services to Iowa schools.
