Pay Teachers What They Deserve
It doesn’t take long for the GOP’s true colors to come out. And even longer to see the true results of the actions of last year’s long session. The message from legislators is: We value the experience of our own employees. We just don’t value your experience in our schools. Last year, state lawmakers removed the longevity bonus pay for veteran teachers and rolled it into their base salary. At the same time, they unveiled a new pay scale that boosted the pay of newer teachers in an attempt to be viewed to balance out the low pay raises of the long term teachers. Others in state government, including state legislative staffers, kept their bonus pay as well as a raise of $1,000, plus five extra vacation days. Lawmakers also raised the pay by 5 to 6 percent for newer members of the Highway Patrol, but they did not take away longevity pay for the troopers, which is the same as what most state employees receive.
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