Proposed California law would increase school teacher pay 50 percent by 2030

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) seeks to tackle the statewide teacher and school staff shortage by doubling their salaries in the next seven years.

Muratsuchi, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 938 on Wednesday, April 26. The bill would set annual targets for the state’s Local Control Funding Formula – which determines how much money is allocated to districts and charter schools – with a goal of reaching a 50% increase by 2030.

“Schools across the state are facing a workforce shortage, with many teachers and school employees unable to afford to live in the communities they work in,” said Muratsuchi in a press conference on Wednesday. “I introduced AB 938 … to not only pay them what they deserve, but also to get more young people to aspire to become educators.”

The bill comes with a strong recommendation — but not a requirement — that school districts spend this additional state funding on salaries.

“It is intentionally drafted as ‘intent’ language rather than a mandate, in order to give district’s flexibility to increase staff salaries, benefits, as well as pay for other essential school functions,” explained Kerry Jacob, communications director for Asm. Muratsuchi.

Jeff Freitas, president of California Teachers Association, said there are two key aspects of the bill he believes will motivate school districts to voluntarily apply the funding to salaries.

First, all districts must provide annual reports to the state on raises they give to teachers and staff. Second, legislators must decide on an annual basis how much they wish to increase the Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, as they make their way toward the 50% goal.

“The intent language in the legislation tells the school districts what this funding is supposed to be for,” said Freitas in a recent interview. “If legislators don’t see salaries go up as LCFF increases, legislators can take action and halt the increases.”

The Los Angeles Unified School District is already well on its way to meeting Muratsuchi’s 50% pay raise goal. The district recently agreed to a 21% raise for teachers and a 30% raise for all service workers, including bus drivers, custodians, food service workers and special education assistants.

LAUSD has not taken a position on AB 938, as its Office of Government Relations is reviewing amendments to the bill, said a district spokesperson. But in the past the district has supported legislative efforts to increase the state’s per-pupil funding.

Under its new contract agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles, which still needs to be ratified by teachers and the school board, the average LAUSD teacher salary will increase to $106,000 by 2025, with a starting salary of $69,000.

However, pay rates at many other districts, particularly small districts that get significantly less state funding, lag behind. Average pay statewide for teachers in the 2021-2022 school year was $88,508 and in some districts the starting salaries remain as low as $47,000.

California has been grappling with a shortage of teachers for the past several years.

A 2018 study by the Learning Policy Institute found that 80% of districts reported a shortage of qualified teachers. And a 2022 survey by UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools found that one in five teachers say they intend on leaving the profession in the next three years.

Muratsuchi believes low pay is the root cause of recruitment and retention struggles. There’s evidence to back him up.

A 2022 study from the Economic Policy Institute found that teachers on average earn 24% less than their comparably educated counterparts in other fields. And in a survey of high school students who are not interested in pursuing teaching, nearly two-thirds cited low pay as one of their top reasons.

“We need to close this wage gap to get more young people to aspire to become educators,” said Muratsuchi.

The bill has support from California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association. However, other major education organizations are withholding comment for now, including the L.A. County Office of Education, the California School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators.

Source: Orange County Register