During his State of the State address, Gov. Greg Abbott said he wanted lawmakers to “increase teachers’ average salary” but also to “reward the best teachers” by expanding the “merit program.”
Yesterday, we asked readers what they would do about teacher pay raises if they were in charge.
Here is a sampling of the responses we received from folks on the topic.
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“Higher pay does not equal quality of character.” – Sherry Poe
“Raises for teachers don’t address the whole problem. Why is public education so expensive for what the results are? Why are there so many administrators? We need to fix the system, not apply another bandaid.” – Kevin Menard
“Why would the state put more money into public schools via these teacher pay raises when the move is supposed to be toward education choice and a shrinking of government-run education? Which way is it, Texas?” – Amy De Rosa
“Not every teacher has earned a raise!” – Carol Dean
“Money for school districts is NOT the problem! It’s how the districts spend the money! So much waste! ‘Use it or lose it’ is their mantra! Too much spent on admins that serve no purpose or paying the bad ones off!” – Nan Ellis
“As a former teacher myself, teacher pay is the least of their worries.” – Jessica Reeves
“Teachers probably should have higher pay, which should come from reducing administrative payroll. But, I don’t believe bad teachers are why we have poor public education in this country. That means higher teacher pay, however much it may be deserved, is not going to solve our education problems.” – Jerry Harben
“Why would we want to increase pay for incompetency?” – Bruce Delater
“Teachers need a raise for all of the work that is required on them. Support staff also need a raise many could make more at fast food restaurants!” – Michele James
“Too often, an ‘increase in teachers salaries’ means an increase in salaries for administrators. I would like to see fewer administrators employed in schools and have the savings in fewer salaries go to classroom teachers that know how to teach.” – Thomas Camardo
“I support merit pay as a trustee, but one-time state funds create long-term budget strain. Without annual state revenue increases, districts bear the burden, relying on local taxpayers for over 70% of funding. Sustainable state investment is essential for lasting impact.” – Jessica Ward
“No money for government schools to indoctrinate our children!!” – Kay Neff
“Throwing money at a problem is a sure sign of liberalism.” – Rick Murray
“I do not think teachers are universally underpaid in Texas, but I would support merit-based raises. The problem is measuring merit—standardized tests have many problems, and rewarding teachers or schools for inflating grades or passing students who don’t deserve it creates perverse incentives.” – Jennifer Kobernik
“With my extensive experience as a union member, trustee, steward, and president, along with a diverse background in the corporate world and over forty years as a business owner, I believe that across-the-board raises can promote mediocrity.” – Paul Cherry
“I am a teacher, so I voted for raises across the board because I know how hard I work. No one has ever come up with a good way to implement merit-based pay, or I would have voted for that.” – Marta Hollowell
“Replace socialist government schools of depravity with competitive free enterprise schools. Fire all government-employed teachers!” – Barry Williams
“Merit-based salary increases should be the norm in any industry. That’s a no-brainer!” – Priscilla Love
“No raises should be given until the system shows vast improvement in student/victims reading and math proficiency.” – Milt Shala
“In every other industry, you receive increases in compensation based on your production and value to the business or client. Government schools are not producing educated citizens for our country. The cost is already out of control, with far too much spent on administration. If raises are to be given, it should be based on the number of students who are achieving at grade level in reading, writing, and math.” – Jennifer Rawson
“Base salary on student performance. Stop lowering the bar. 8th graders reading at a 4th-grade level should equate to ‘half’ their salary, a 50% cut due to low performance.” – Corey Mayo
“Merit should be the way, but based on what? How much they are liked by their students? How many times they volunteer for bus duty? Test scores of their students? Impossible.” – Patricia Forsythe
“Merit-based raises might be a good way to make the less effective teachers move back to California.” – Grady King
“Until the quality of education has increased, teachers do not deserve a raise.” – Becky Carothers
“Another raise?? What about the rest of us? In the small town I live near the teachers of the public schools are by far the RICHEST people in town.” – David Turner
“Frankly, the dismal results regularly presented by state and federal agencies demonstrating failing student performance, why does any teacher in government-run schools deserve a raise? Taxpayers are NOT getting what they pay for as is, and should not be fleeced further.” – Roger Taylor
“In today’s educational climate, many students graduating cannot read or do simple math. Therefore, it is imperative that teachers are hired on a merit-based system.” – Molly Choate
“I know a teacher who has a Masters degree and is divorced. She had three small children, and after they deduct for their expensive health insurance coverage, she can make more money flipping burgers. Just look at how many Texas teachers that are leaving the profession!” – Gary Claxon
