A new bill has been filed in the Texas House seeking to raise teacher salaries by $15,000 and give a 25% pay increase to school support staff as the Texas Legislature is currently deciding how to spend its $33 billion surplus. The bill has a good amount of supporters, and some see it as a way to address the problem Texas has with retaining teachers.

The bill was filed by the young state representative James Talarico (D-Roundrock). Talarico is also a former middle school educator. “I struggled to make ends meet, and my co-workers at Rhodes Middle School drove Ubers at night and sold their own blood plasma to make extra money,” Talarico said. 

The past year in 2022, the state of Texas has seen a teacher shortage across the state. It has led to cities boosting teacher pay, and other schools to a four-day school week to make up for the shortage.

Lots of teachers are considering leaving the profession. A Charles Butt Foundation Texas Teacher poll of 2022 found over 70% of teachers considered leaving the field. The majority of Teachers agree that their pay is unfair, with around 40% working an additional job to make ends meet. And the vast majority of Teachers polled stated that a significant salary increase would greatly help teacher retention. 

Texas teachers make $7500 less than the national average. Lots of teachers have to pay out-of-pocket for school supplies and learn more curriculum on their own time. Many teachers feel strained, undervalued, and not appreciated by the state or the public. “In their own words, teachers describe many reasons for seriously considering leaving the field, including lack of respect and support, excessive workload, too little pay, and the impact of pandemic disruptions on student learning and well-being,” wrote the poll.

This new bill hopes to solve the financial issue Texas teachers are facing. Alternatives to this bill are to just increase the funding per child in public schools. However, it will depend on the Legislature’s priorities with their increased budget. The public is also behind in raising salaries for Texas teachers and increasing funding for public education.

The Charles Butt Foundation recently published its poll for 2023 to look at how the Texas public views public education. The majority of the public agrees that teacher pay does need to be increased, and most parents who send their kids to public school have a favorable view of teachers. The majority of the Texas public agrees that Texas teachers are underpaid, and a strong majority supports increasing the funding for public education. “The public favors a comprehensive compensation system, with years of experience, inflation, and level of education as the most preferred factors to increase pay over a teaching career,” wrote the poll. 

According to the poll:

• 89% of public school parents say they are satisfied with their child’s education.
• 39% say they would like their child to take up teaching. 
• 3/4ths of Texans think teachers are disrespected and undervalued
• 66% say teachers are overworked
• 75% think teacher salaries are too low
• 89% say the state needs to increase teacher salaries 

“While aware of their challenges, Texans express a deep reservoir of goodwill for the state’s public schools. Parents are broadly satisfied with the quality of their child’s education and the public overwhelmingly supports increasing state funding to boost teacher pay,” said the Charles Butt Foundation.