House approves teacher pay raise

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Teachers and school employees could get a 2.5 percent pay raise later this year, under legislation approved Tuesday by Alabama House of Representatives.

Representatives, who face party primaries in June, unanimously approved the proposed raise. It now moves to the Alabama Senate.

Democrats spent much of the debate arguing that teachers and education employees should get a higher raise, with several suggesting an amount of 5 percent.

Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, said educators have had to pay more out of pocket for their health insurance which offset other raises given by the state in the past. "If you lower the morale of the educator, it can't help but to impact the classroom instructional setting," Ford said.

Read more: http://www.timesdaily.com/news/state/house-approves-teacher-pay-raise/article_d47a166b-7e2e-52ff-90da-1eeaa2f9e225.html