Gov. Mike Parson said he plans to prioritize again teacher pay in his next state budget proposal.
Gov. Mike Parson (Photo courtesy of the governor’s Twitter page)
“We’re not one and done,” he said. “I talk to my administration every day. We’re not about one and done. And so, it’s not about just doing something for one year, and then have to go backwards or stay level. We really want to build a foundation where we increase each year to try to make it better and better. But at the same time, we’re going to ask for more responsibility. We’re going to invest more, but we want teachers to do more. We want to really focus on what are the needs of kids to go into the workforce of tomorrow.”
Parson requested and the legislature approved a plan this year to provide grants to help K-12 public schools raise the starting pay for teachers from $25,000 to $38,000 annually. Parson’s proposal to increase pay for experienced teachers also received legislative approval.
“We really want to get education to another level,” said the governor.
Finding childcare and early childhood education options in Missouri has been a struggle. Parson said another piece in the current year’s budget that is important to him is the $429 million to strengthen these.
Parson is expected to roll out his next state budget after the legislature gets back to work in January.
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