Bob Christie Capitol Media Services PHOENIX — Arizona House Republicans on Monday gave preliminary approval to $10,000 per year raises for public school teachers over the objections of Democrats who say the plan is a fake effort they know GOP lawmakers can’t fund in the long term.
“I think it is incumbent upon this Legislature to do all they can to support teachers to make sure that teachers are paid what they deserve, paid for a good job that they are doing,” Martinez said. “We cannot stand by as a Legislature and say that our teachers are paid so much that they would not value a $10,000 raise, and we need to do everything we can to attract teachers.”
Adopted in 1980, it adjusts for inflation and student growth. But the costs of education have grown so much that the state has bumped up against that cap repeatedly.Lawmakers for the past two years agreed to one-year waivers of the cap to deal with prior increases in education funding. Democrats, however, say that’s hardly an assurance and proposed an amendment, defeated by Republicans, to put the question of repealing the cap on the 2024 ballot.
Gress said in an interview after the bill received initial approval that he joins with Democrats in seeking a change to the school spending limit. And he said he was actually heartened to see the contents of that failed Democratic floor amendment because it lays the groundwork for an eventual compromise that would both boost teacher pay by using a dedicated fund and increase transparency.