$45,000 Minimum Salary Proposed For Pennsylvania Teachers

A new proposal from Gov. Wolf which would provide every teacher in Pennsylvania with a minimum salary of $45,000.

The plan, part of his proposed 2019-20 budget, has drawn support and disapproval from both sides of the aisle. Pennsylvania's current minimum teacher salary is set at $18,500 per year.

Wolf tied it again to improving the state's workforce, and thus the economy.

"If we’re going to build the nation's strongest workforce, we need to start competing for the very best teachers," he said in a statement. "And not just in well-funded suburban school districts — but in every zip code of our commonwealth. That starts with raising the minimum teacher salary."

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Teachers in Pennsylvania are paid an average of $67,627, according to a study from the National Education Association. Entry-level teachers earned average salaries of $44,647.

Since salaries vary widely by district, so too would state funding for this initiative. In fact, some districts would not receive any funding at all.

The biggest winner, according to a study from the Commonwealth Foundation, would be Conemaugh Valley School District out in Cambria County. The proposal calls for them to receive $693,000 in funding to bring salaries up to that proposed minimum level.

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In southeastern Pennsylvania, only a few districts would be seriously impacted:

• Bensalem: $32,963
• Pennridge: $20,058
• Reading: $262,565
• Antietam: $11,365
• Palisades: $6,141

Opponents point toward the tax increase to fund the program as unjustified, and claim that those rural districts that would see the most funding don't need it. Detractors are also concerned about a "ripple effect: that would further increase property taxes.

"Someone is going to have to come up with the money to cover those additional salary increases," State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-62) told YourErie.com. "And that's my real concern."

There are also questions about the brass tacks of the plan, including how the compensation would might impact teacher's aides and other school support staff that don't see a comparative raise.

Wolf's budget proposal also calls for a raise in the minimum wage, and mandates that school children are in school from ages six to 18, instead of the current eight to 17.

The budget is currently being discussed in the state legislature.