LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday signed two pieces of legislation that raised the median salary for a teacher by $2,000 a year.
The bills, one from the Senate, the other from the House, had virtually unanimous support in both chambers.
Hutchinson said the state had earlier raised the minimum teacher salary by $2,000, but the two bills he signed into law take on the median teacher salary.
The governor said the bills “will make a big difference for the teachers, particularly in the more rural school districts that have not been able to raise consistently the teachers’ salaries in recent years.”
He called it an endeavor to raise teacher salaries to a competitive level with other states. He said the bills also reduce the disparity between the highest and lowest median teacher salaries in the state and provides an additional $25 million in state funding for school districts. That funding includes $185 per student for districts that are behind in salaries.
Hutchinson touted other bills regarding education that the Legislature passed, including:
-An increase in school transportation funding.
-A measure giving school resource officers a memorandum of understanding with local law enforcement agencies.
-Creation of the School Safety Board within the Criminal Justice Institute.
-Granting teaching licenses to DACA students and educators.
-A requirement for computer science credit to be required for graduation.
-A bill requiring Holocaust education in public schools.
“These are significant education bills and I think the top of it all is this increase in teacher pay, which is fundamental to our future,” Hutchinson said.
He said $15 million of the increase will come from the adequacy funding the Legislature passed with another $10 million from the Educational Adequacy Trust Fund.
