OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday unveiled a plan to give teachers a raise, including increasing the state’s portion of a teacher’s starting pay by nearly $5,000 next fall to help retention rates across the state.
The governor announced the proposal during the unveiling of his supplemental budget proposal, which makes some tweaks to the current $38 billion, two-year state budget that was adopted earlier this year. The new proposal includes putting more money toward covering wildfire costs and into the state’s mental health system.
The teacher proposal — which would bump the state portion of the teacher starting pay from $35,700 to $40,000 — is separate from the budget plan. It would cost about $100 million a year, something Inslee says can be done if four tax exemptions are closed or limited.
Inslee said a recent state survey shows that the state is facing a shortage of qualified teachers and substitutes and school districts are struggling with teacher retention. He says his plan will lead to more than 8,700 teachers receiving a raise ranging from $1,000 to $4,300. In addition to the base salary bump, his proposal provides a minimum 1 percent salary increase starting in the 2016-17 school year for all other teachers. Classified and administrative staff also would receive 1 percent raises under the plan.