Educators in Pheonix, Arizona, will be getting more money in their paychecks as the new school year begins. Last year teachers from different districts got a ten percent (10%) raise and this year they are getting five percent (5%) more.
The increase will also aid recruitment. The district’s associate superintendent – Shaun Holmes, said that there are about one hundred free positions to fill in the area. Recruiting teachers poses a great difficulty when the salaries are much lower compared to other states.
A recent data research released by the National Education Association shows that educators make about fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) annually which is lower than the national average, which is sixty-one thousand seven hundred eighty-two dollars ($61,782). That same report puts Arizona on the forty-fifth place for mean teacher pay.
Arizona and government help
The pay rise is happening because Governor Doug Ducey has introduced a step-by-step process to boost salaries by around twenty percent (20%) by 2020. The boost will also help other business sectors and provide a workforce for the future.
It is essential for teachers to have competitive wages because they are starting to transfer to other industries since they are not content with their pay. And now with the market booming, districts will have to do better to attract teachers. Teachers assistants and support staff in the United Kingdom are also seeking better payment, however, the government has not yet made a decision on how to deal with this problem.
The Florence Unified School District is awarding teachers with pay increases by five percent (5%) for the new school year. In other districts, pay rises have even reached twenty-two percent (22%).
