Gov. Butch Otter says his 2015-16 budget blueprint has money set aside to launch a career ladder program to boost teacher pay.
“It’s within our parameters,” Otter said in a Wednesday interview with Idaho Education News. “I have every confidence that we will get the first year.”
The career ladder plan — endorsed Monday by a State Board of Education subcommittee — carries a five-year price tag of $175 million. First-year costs are projected at $23.7 million, and would climb in subsequent years.
The career ladder is the costliest of the 20 recommendations from Otter’s education reform task force. The idea behind the salary ladder is to increase pay for new teachers and veteran teachers over the course of the rollout. Beginning pay could top out at $40,000 to $42,000, while master teachers would receive $54,000 to $58,000.
But several unanswered questions still surround the career ladder plan. Click here to continue reading this story from Idaho Education News.