Minimum teacher pay going up by $1,000

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced he will sign today legislation that promises a $1,000-a-year minimum teacher pay increase each of the next four years.

The current guaranteed minimum is $31,800. Thus that means a 3.14 percent increase in the first year.

By way of comparison: Legislators last year got a 3 percent increase in pay for this year from the independent citizens' commission that sets state official pay. Legislators are now paid $41,393 for part-time jobs, plus tax-free per diem up to $149 a day for those who live more than 50 miles from Little Rock. They also get reimbursed 54.5 cents per mile.

Democrats pushed for a bigger increase in the minimum, but the administration said this was all the state could afford and said the increase compared favorably with neighboring states.

Read more: https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2019/02/18/minimum-teacher-pay-going-up-by-1000