Jefferson City, MO – The minimum pay for teachers in Missouri has risen from $33,000 to $38,000 in the newly-passed state budget. Missouri teachers are celebrating the pay increase. But some school districts are a little nervous about it.
The new budget calls for the state to cover 70% of the increase and the districts to cover the remaining 30%.
Eric Allen, superintendent of the Alton school district in the Ozarks, says the concern is whether the state will keep that formula into the future.
"There needs to be truly a long-term, well-planned approach as opposed to a one or two year, everybody feels good about this," said Allen. "But we know the proverbial other shoe is going to fall at some point."
Allen says the increase will help retain experienced teachers who have been making less than $38K a year, rather than attracting new teachers.