Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Committee discussed a proposal from Governor Tom Wolf to raise the minimum salaries of teachers by 143 percent.
The minimum salary would go up from $18,500 to a minimum of $45,000, according to the Wolf Administration. Raising that minimum salary is estimated to impact the starting pay for 180 school districts and the cost would come out to $13.8 million. Representative Jim Struzzi, who represents Indiana county, said that while raising the minimum pay for teachers is good as teachers deserve a fair pay, Struzzi is worried about some of the ripple effects that it might have elsewhere, especially in coming up with the money for the salary increases, and the impact it will have on local communities through current property taxes. It’s a worry that is also shared by several of his fellow Representatives.
The original $18,500 state-minimum teachers wage was first set in 1989.
