When Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders talks about the Arkansas LEARNS Act, she almost always mentions teacher pay.

“It starts by immediately offering incentives to attract and retain the best brightest teachers to Arkansas,” she said when she first introduced the bill. “Instead of being in 48th in the nation for starting teacher salary, we will now be in the top five.”

Under the law, new teachers will get $50,000 a year, a far higher base salary than even a year ago, when, according to the National Education Association, Arkansas offered on average $37,000 to first-year teachers.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-07-12/questions-continue-over-arkansas-teacher-pay

*Lindsey Balbierz For NPR*
*As the LEARNS bill rolls out, teachers and districts experience confusion about how teacher pay provisions in the law will pan out.*

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Against the backdrop of historic Central High School in Little Rock, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Jones outlined Tuesday (July 19) a plan to raise teacher and staff pay in public schools and to close gaps on a growing teacher shortage.

Jones said the state should use up to $400 million of its $1.6 billion state surplus to provide an immediate teacher bonus, raise minimum teacher salaries this August, and raise them again by $4,000 by the end of his first term, if elected.

His plan includes:

Paying a one-time surplus bonus for teachers and staff between $1,000-$2,500 per school employee;
Raising minimum teacher pay to $46,000 this August;
Raising the pay to $50,000 per year by the end of his first term; and
Adding $4,200 in pay to those teachers and staff already making $46,000 or more.
https://talkbusiness.net/2022/07/democrat-chris-jones-lays-out-plan-to-raise-teacher-pay-to-50000/

Questions continue over Arkansas teacher pay

Democrat Chris Jones lays out plan to raise teacher pay to $50,000