SB 1092 – This act creates the Minimum Salary for Teachers Program and establishes procedures for qualifying school districts to receive funds to pay minimum salary supplements to teachers. A minimum salary supplement is the difference between a school district's salary schedule and the minimum salary identified in the act. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, the General Assembly will make an annual appropriation to the fund to pay public school teacher minimum salary supplements to qualifying school districts. A participating school district is only responsible for the contracted amount of a teacher's salary. If the appropriation is insufficient to pay the total cost of all minimum salary supplements, the minimum salary amounts will be prorated. To qualify for funds, school districts must recognize all years of a teacher's teaching experience in accordance with the salary amounts and education levels identified in the act. A participating school district is also subject to a local effort requirement, which is based on the percentage of expenditures from the district's teachers and incidental funds attributable to base salary, retirement, and health care costs as described in the act. A district may vary from its local effort percentage based on its teacher and incidental fund balance. A district that varies more than the allowable percentage will have a deduction made from the minimum salary supplement in the next fiscal year.
Any future increases in minimum salaries are contingent on decreases in total state payments to all districts as described in the act. The value of each level of minimum salary will be increased by $500 in the second fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the state cost of funding the minimum salaries is 85% or less of the full funding cost for the first school year of the state funding of minimum teacher salaries under the act.
The provisions on this act will expire in six years unless reauthorized.
MICHAEL RUFF