Newton superintendent concerned if increasing teacher pay will truly equalize, be sustainable

In addition to the proposed Area Education Agencies bill that Jasper County legislators spoke at-length about during a discussion at a Newton school board meeting on Jan. 22, lawmakers did speak briefly on the starting pay increases for Iowa teachers, but the previous topic is taking over much of the conversation.

As a result both of the legislative guests at the school board meeting had very little to say about it other than they are welcoming any and all feedback. The Newton superintendent praised the motivation behind the bill, but he is worried about sustainability and competition between big and small districts later on.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in her Condition of the State address that if we want younger Iowans to see the teaching profession as something to aspire to, then teacher pay needs to send that message. Reynolds proposed the state invest $96 million in new money to increase starting pay by 50 percent.

Which means starting teachers would be issued a salary of $50,000 per year, with a minimum salary of $62,000 for teachers with at least 12 years of experience. Reynolds also wants to allocate $10 million to a merit-based grant program that will reward teachers who have gone above and beyond.

“These investments will put Iowa in the top-five states for starting pay and help recruit more of the best and brightest to join the teaching profession,” she said.

Currently, Newton schools is short five teachers since the beginning of the year.

Newton Superintendent Tom Messinger shared his concerns about teacher pay. Superintendents were told this proposal came about to not only recognize the state has to do something to draw more individuals into the teaching profession but also to help equalize some of the pay discrepancies across school districts.

“Is there anything being talked about with the state salary schedule model? Because otherwise what’s going to happen is once you hit year 12, if there’s not something built into it to show districts how we can sustain this and how we can work through this, then it becomes difficult to retain people,” Messinger said.

Ultimately, Messinger wanted to know if there will also be funding or mechanisms in place to retain teachers, which is a common problem across the state. Coupled with a decrease in individuals seeking higher level degrees, he worried the salary schedule wouldn’t incentivize teachers to seek those opportunities.

“Have those items been talked about or thought through with that future pay issue?” Messinger asked.

Iowa Sen. Ken Rozenboom, of District 19, said the short answer is no, and that is mainly because of the AEA proposal “sucking all the oxygen out of the room.” Even as the chair of the Iowa Senate Education Committee, Rozenboom admitted his mind is not wrapped around that issue at all.

“It seems, to me, it added a degree of difficulty to the discussion,” he said.

Iowa House Rep. Jon Dunwell, of District 38, said leadership has looked at it but they are currently compiling questions similar to the ones asked by Messinger.

“We don’t have the answer to that question, but I would say it’s been raised and is going to be talked about,” Dunwell said. “The question is whether or not we’ll have the funds to be able to do that or whether we’re going to be looking to the districts to participate with us in those areas, too. We don’t have the answer yet.”

Increasing the starting pay is going to be a challenge. Dunwell claimed the starting pay in the Baxter school district of $38,000 is similar to Newton schools. That is a challenge. He also raised the concern about what to do with a teacher who has taught at the district for two years and is making $51,000.

“Those are things you have to look at and we don’t quite have the answers to that yet,” Dunwell said.

Messinger said the bill might put all schools on an even footing at first, but if it is left up to the districts then the wealthier districts will be able to provide more funds to teachers. Messinger said that scenario would put public schools back where they started, to which Dunwell agreed.

“I’m not saying don’t raise teacher pay,” he said. “I think it definitely would go a long ways because then we could try to draw people in from other states … But if we’re going to do it let’s figure out a way to do it so it’s sustainable and does meet some of the original targets of trying to help equalize things.”