CA Teacher Salaries Could Climb 50 Percent Under Proposed Law

CALIFORNIA — A bill introduced Wednesday in the California State Assembly would put the Golden State on the path to boosting salaries for teachers and other staffers by 50 percent in just a few years.

AB 938, sponsored by Education Committee Chair Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), would establish a "local control funding formula" (LCFF) and create targets for the state to hit the 50 percent mark by the 2030-31 fiscal year. Each school district would be required to report its progress in meeting the goal over the seven years.

"We need to pay our teachers and essential school staff what they deserve," Muratsuchi said Wednesday. "Schools across the state are facing a workforce shortage, with many teachers and school employees unable to afford to live in the communities they work in. Moreover, there is a growing wage gap between teachers and comparable college graduates in other fields."

Beyond improving pay for teachers now, the assemblyman's bill is designed to make the field more attractive to the next generation of educators. Muratsuchi's office cites research showing close to two-thirds of college students are not interested in teaching, citing pay as one of their top three reasons.

As The Press-Enterprise reports, a 2018 study found 80 percent of California's school districts reported shortages of qualified teachers, and a UCLA survey last year determined one in five teachers had plans to leave their careers in the next three years. Teachers earn nearly 25 percent less than college graduates in adjacent fields, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank.

While the average pay for teachers statewide was more than $88,000 last year, starting salaries in some districts are under $50,000.

AB 938 has garnered early support from the California Federation of Teachers, the California Teachers Association, and the California School Employees Association.

"As California faces an unprecedented staffing crisis in our public schools, we need real solutions to keep educators and classified professionals in our schools and attract new and diverse talent to the field," said Jeff Freitas, the CFT president. "The 50 percent salary increase proposed in AB 938 represents an investment in our schools, students, communities, and ultimately the future of our state."