AUSTIN (KRLD) - A bill that would give every Texas public school teacher a $5,000 raise has been passed by the Senate Committee on Finance and will now head to the full state senate.
Clay Robison with the Texas State Teacher Association is pleased and notes Texas teachers earn $7,300 less than the national average. He's happy this raise would not be tied to performance or test scores. He says teacher turnover rates in Texas are high, 30 to 50 percent within five years on the job, due to inadequate pay.
"If you want to start singling out a handful of teachers, that's not fair to the rest of the teacher and it's not fair to the school kids."
Robison says a woman who has taught for eight years in a suburban Austin district, and has a masters degree, testified in front of the Senate panel this morning.
"On the weekends, she's an Uber driver. She makes on a good Uber day on the weekend more money than she makes a day in the classroom."
Robison adds this bill doesn't go far enough, and should include raises for support staff like librarians, nurses and counselors. The bill now heads to the full Senate. He wants to see legislation introduced that would give those staffers raises as well.
