Iowa House passes bill to increase minimum teacher pay to $50,000

DES MOINES — Iowa teachers and school staff could see a pay increase if a bill Iowa House lawmakers passed on Thursday becomes law.

The bill, House File 2630, would raise the state’s minimum teacher salary to $50,000 over the next two years and require a $15 minimum wage for any non-salaried school staff.

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House lawmakers were overwhelmingly united on the need to increase teacher pay. Lawmakers said the increase would improve the state’s ability to attract teachers and increase the quality of living for the state’s educators.

“A teacher in Iowa will be at or near the top of purchasing power in the entire nation with what Iowa pays them,” said Rep. Bill Gustoff, R-Des Moines. “This will be the largest single boost to teacher pay in the history of the state.”

The bill passed 92-1, with Rep. Mark Cisneros, R-Muscatine, the sole no vote.

The bill emerged from negotiations over a proposal from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to overhaul the state’s area education agencies, which provide special education support to Iowa schools.

Reynolds’ proposal, which would allow school districts to retain their state and federal special education funding and seek special education outside the AEAs, included a provision to increase Iowa’s starting teacher salaries to $50,000 and increase teacher pay with 12 years experience to $62,000 a year.

The proposal has been heavily amended as it has made its way through the lawmaking process.

House lawmakers opted to run the teacher pay increase as a separate bill and pass their own proposal to change the AEA system.

Senate Republicans have included the pay increase in their amended version of Reynolds’ proposal, which has not passed out of the chamber. The Senate bill would set the minimum teacher salary at $46,251.

Education advocates said last week they preferred the House approach to run the increases as a stand-alone bill.

Democrats also commended House Republicans for taking up the measure in a separate bill and working on a bipartisan proposal.

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“I am pleased that we are able to talk about this bill and that we are able to send a bipartisan message to the Senate and to the governor to tell them that the House of Representatives is united in support of paying our teachers, paying our educators, paying our paraprofessionals in a way that is not politicized, that is independent and that is good for Iowa kids,” said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights.

The bill is eligible for consideration in the Republican-controlled Iowa Senate, and lawmakers will need to come to an agreement on a proposal before sending it to Reynolds’ desk for a signature.

Representatives for Reynolds and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek said he was appreciative of the bipartisan action in the House.

"We implore the Senate and governor to act in a timely fashion and pass HF 2630,“ he said. ”Doing so will help to retain and attract professionals who skillfully guide and teach Iowa’s most precious resource — our children.“

What it will cost

The House bill would increase the minimum teacher salary to $47,500 in the 2024-25 school year and set it at $50,000 the following year.

It would set the minimum wage for non-salaried staff to $15, and allocate an additional $22 million for K-12 schools to increase the pay of existing teachers.

The three initiatives would cost $63.4 million in the coming year, according to the Legislative Services Agency — $27.4 million for teacher pay; $14 million for support staff pay; along with the $22 million from the state.

Those costs would increase each year as the state's supplemental aid to school districts increases.

The current mandatory minimum salary for Iowa teachers is $33,500. According to the National Education Association, the average salary for starting teachers in Iowa is $39,208, which ranks 35th among the 50 states.

With an average starting salary of $50,000, Iowa would rank sixth in the nation for starting teacher salary.

Combined with the 3 percent school funding increase House lawmakers passed already this year, Gustoff said the proposed spending represents the largest school funding increase in more than 20 years.

More time on school budgets

The bill also extends the deadline for school districts to submit a draft budget to their county auditor, a requirement imposed by a new property tax law last year.

Although lawmakers are required by law to pass their school funding appropriation by Feb. 9, the deadline passed without agreement between the House and Senate. House lawmakers passed a bill to increase school funding by 3 percent, but the Senate has not settled on the percent of increase.

Reynolds called for a 2.5 percent increase in her budget proposal.

The lack of certainty from state lawmakers has left schools attempting to craft their budget statements without knowing how much money they will receive.

The bill would extend the deadline from March 15 to 35 days after the law setting state aid to school districts takes effect, giving schools more time to submit those statements.

Democrats criticized Republicans in a news conference Thursday for failing to come to an agreement on school funding and preventing districts from finalizing their budget.

Comments: cmccullough@qctimes.com