State Board of Education asks Missouri to study open enrollment, raise teacher wages in '22
Missouri's State Board of Education is asking the state's education department to study "best practices" in allowing students to attend public schools outside of their assigned districts, alongside a slate of other legislative priorities and proposals for 2022.
The board is also putting its support behind a $10,000 raise in minimum wage for teachers, required school board meetings for parents to weigh in on districts' curricula, and ways to change teachers' salary structure. Missouri's General Assembly will return to Jefferson City for its annual legislative session in January.
Encouragement for the state to look at open enrollment for schools comes as Republican lawmakers take aim at public education, criticizing their governance and curricula and proposing charter, private or home schooling as alternatives. Students in Missouri are currently placed within the district corresponding to their home address.
A bill proposed last year would have allowed students to transfer districts but died in a Senate committee. It saw hesitation and pushback from a number of lawmakers along the way, passing the full House with an 82-68 vote.
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The board is prioritizing methods to recruit and retain teaching talent in Missouri — primarily through a recommended minimum pay bump to $35,000 by 2024, up from the current $25,000 annually. The Show-Me State's average starting salary for teachers ranks last among all U.S. states, according to data collected last year by the National Education Association. Springfield Public Schools is also asking lawmakers to raise teacher pay in their 2022 recommendations.
“Our eight border states have made headway in addressing teacher pay in recent years, while Missouri has remained stagnant," said Charlie Shields, president of the state board, in a statement Tuesday. "The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working to implement a wide variety of recruitment and retention strategies, but we must have legislative support to ensure Missouri students continue to have the best educators possible in their classrooms.”
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Among the board's other proposals for recruitment and retention include a commission including both lawmakers and private sector members to make policy recommendations. It also wants a collaborative study to see whether certain aspects of teachers' salary structure, including incentive pay, health benefits and wages based on location and subject, can be modified.
The board is also supporting legislation that would require local school boards to hold annual meetings dedicated to "allow district residents the opportunity to provide input on school district curriculum." In recent months, some parents in school districts across Missouri and the U.S. have expressed frustration and requested more information on how certain subjects, including U.S. history and specifically race and equity, are taught in schools.
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Other recommendations outlined in the board's legislative platform include addressing the divide among students' knowledge of and access to technology (commonly called the "digital divide") and for increased funding for school transportation.
Missouri's State Board of Education is made up of eight citizens appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. No political party can hold a majority of the seats, and members are distributed evenly among congressional districts.
Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: MO education board wants study on open enrollment, teacher wage hike
