HCSHB607--SALARIESFORTEACHERS
SPONSOR: Lewis
COMMITTEEACTION:Voted"DoPasswithHCS"bytheSpecial
CommitteeonIntergovernmental Affairsbyavoteof8to4.
ThefollowingisasummaryoftheHouseCommitteeSubstituteforHB
607.
Thisbillclarifieslanguagerelatingtoadditionalfundingfor
teachersalariesthatdistrictsreceiveifthedistricthasa
schoolcalendarwith169schooldays.Theclarificationprovided
allowsforinclementweatherorauthorizedreductionstothenumber
ofdaysthedistrictmustbeinsessiontoqualifyforthefunding
(Section163.045RSMo).
Thebillmodifiestheminimumteachersalarytoremovethe
requirementthatateacher'smaster'sdegreemustbeinanacademic
teachingfielddirectlyrelatedtotheteacher'sassignment.
Additionally,thebilldelaysincreasestotheminimumsalariesdue
toinflationuntil2030andonlyauthorizesincreasesdueto
inflationfrom2030to2035.
Beginningin2030-31thebilllimitsgrantsauthorizedunderthe
"TeacherBaselineSalaryGrantProgram"to50%oftheamount
necessaryforadistricttoincreaseminimumteacher'ssalariesto
meetthethresholdset.Theremaining50%mustbespentbythe
districtfromtheClassroomTrustFundmoneysunlessthefundis
expendedandthenthedistrictmayreceiveadditionalgrant
funding.
ThebilladdsanexpirationtothegrantprogramofJune30,2035
unlesstheprogramisreauthorized(Section163.172).
Thefollowingisasummaryofthepublictestimonyfromthe
committeehearing. Thetestimonywasbasedontheintroduced
versionofthebill.
PROPONENTS: SupporterssaythatthisisSB727withtweaks.Last
year,thebasesalaryincreaseddramatically. Thisbillismeant
tofixtheminimumbaselineasitwasintended. Ifthebasesalary
is$40,000,anditincreasesaccordinglyuntil2035,thesalarywill
getto$50,000. Theschooldistrictshavetosplitthecostofthe
teachers’basesalary,increasingthebasefrom$20,000to$40,000
makingitalotforschooldistrictstohavetopay.Thisbill
givesthesupporterssomethingmanageableanddoesnotbreakthe
banksforschools. Therewasalsoabumprelatingtoschoolsthat
hadafive-dayschoolweek,butitwashardtodefinewhatafive- dayschoolweekwas,especiallyiftherewasasnowday.Itdid
nothaveexceptionsforalternativemethodsofinstructiondaysor
snowdays.Thefixinthisbillwouldputitinlinewithgoing
backtoschooldays.Ifschoolshaveallocatedalltheirclassroom
trustfundmoneys,thentheycanaskformoney.
TestifyinginpersonforthebillwasRepresentative Lewis.
OPPONENTS: Thosewhoopposethebillsaythatitisconcerningto
havetocomebackayearafterthelegislaturemadethechangesto
holdthelegislaturetoitspromises. Missouriarecompeting
againstotherstates,soitisveryimportanttoincreasethe
minimumteachersalaryinordertobecompetitive.Opponentssay
theMissouriStateTeachersAssociationwasneutralonSB727but
nowtheyareopposingthisbecauseit’sundoingsomeofthe
increases. Schooldistrictsarecurrentlyrespondingtothe
changespassedinSB727,andthisbillundoessomethingthatis
verynecessaryforMissouri’steachers. Opponentsfurthersay
hardconversationsneedtobehad,includingthatthisultimately
shouldbecomeamatchingprogram. Thisbillisgoingtobringupa
lotofissues.
TestifyinginpersonagainstthebillwereMissouriStateTeachers
Association;andMissouriCouncilOfSchoolAdministrators.
Writtentestimonyhasbeensubmittedforthisbill.Thefull
writtentestimonyandwitnessestestifyingonlinecanbefound
underTestimonyonthebillpageontheHousewebsite.