California legislators advanced a bill May 1 that would give teachers and other school staff a 50 percent pay raise by 2030 amid the state’s ongoing teacher shortage.
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) said he introduced the bill—AB 938—to not only retain current teachers but to also attract more young people to the profession, which has been exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need to pay our teachers and essential school staff what they deserve,” Muratsuchi said in an April 26 statement. “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.”…