New Texas teacher pay bill proposes increasing certain salaries by as much as $10,000 - Austin Monitor

Sen. Brandon Creighton has introduced Senate Bill 26, proposing nearly $5 billion aimed at increasing teacher salaries, particularly for those with over three years of experience. While Texas ranks 15th for starting teacher salaries, it plummets to 40th for compensation of seasoned educators. The bill aims to establish a retention allotment fund to ensure dedicated funds for teacher pay increases, which could help retain skilled educators beyond the critical five-year mark, according to teacher polling data indicating a high turnover consideration among teachers.

Sen. Brandon Creighton emphasized, 'Nationally, we rank 15th in the country for starting salaries for teachers, but we rank right around 40th for how we pay our experienced teachers.'

Creighton noted that, 'It will be specifically for teachers and retaining them because we know if we can keep them past that 60-month mark, we've got a really strong percentage chance of having those best-of-the-best teachers remain in the profession.'

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