SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Springfield Public Schools (SPS) Board of Education will adopt a compensation plan for employees on Tuesday evening for the upcoming school year.
According to the Missouri National Education Association (NEA) website, Missouri ranks 50th in the nation for average beginning teacher pay ($34,052) for the second year.
The SPS Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Dr. John Mulford, said if the compensation plan is adopted come Tuesday, all SPS employees will receive at least a three percent cost of living increase.
“$43,200 is what we’re targeting for beginning teachers,” Dr. Mulford said.
Dr. Mulford said that although the state needs to continue thinking about wages, public school districts have to rely on tax dollars.
“When it comes to public education, whether you’re a teacher or filling some other supporting role, pay is not high enough,” Dr. Mulford said. “That’s been a topic in our state, a topic by our governor, and everyone knows we need to get wages up, but public school districts have a limited source of revenue that relies solely on tax dollars.”
Laura Mullins, the Springfield NEA President, said once the plan is put in place, it will be a historical high, but more can be done.
“A teacher can cross pretty much any border into a bordering state of Missouri and make more right out of the gate,” Mullins said. “The raise that teachers are getting is historically a good one, but in the grand scheme of things, Missouri has a lot more work to do.”
Besides regular teachers’ wages, other groups, such as nutrition services staff and paraprofessional teachers and staff, will get the raises they need. Dr. Mulford said the plan would give a minimum of $15 an hour to nutrition services. He said there are two groups of paraprofessional staff; one would receive at least $15 1/2 an hour, and the other group receiving over $17.
Mullins said that without the help of hourly workers, full-time teachers could not excel in educating students.
“Hopefully, we were able to make some positive changes for our hourly workers to draw more of them to come to SPS so we have the support educators need to fully educate,” Mullins said. “That’s nutrition services, custodial, paras, secretaries, it’s all of them.”
Dr. Mulford said one of the district’s goals is to be one of the top-paying districts in the area. He said with the adoption of the compensation plan, SPS can continue that. He also said SPS is one of the highest-paying starting wages in the Springfield area.
According to a release from SPS, the plan will bring an increase of $12.1 million for salary and benefits, on top of the over three percent raise mentioned above.
SPS is required to adopt a budget by June 30. If you want to see the district’s 2023-2024 strategic plan, click here.
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