Iowa ranks 35th in the nation in teacher salary. The fact that Iowa remains in the top one to two states in achievement tells me that there are many dedicated people who forgo the additional compensation that could be received in another profession in order to make a difference in a child's life. Research tells us that teacher quality is the most important factor in determining a child's academic success. Our school district spends a large amount of time, effort and money in providing staff development once we have hired the best teachers that we can. We value our teachers and try to provide them with the best atmosphere for teaching that we are able to afford.
Training does cost a lot of money, but it is paramount to their success in the classroom.
I would like to remind the legislature at this time that a reallocation of existing resources within our budgets would be both insufficient and detrimental, as would the addition of more unfunded mandates. Likewise, allowable growth must be significant in order to keep up with other states raising teacher salaries. For greatest impact, Iowa needs to look at the issue of teacher compensation with a broad, comprehensive focus that links compensation with local school improvement goals, staff development, district needs and evaluation systems that assess whether teacher are improving student learning. Locally determined goals and measures are best. Local boards and district leadership, including teachers, parents and community members are all part of the comprehensive school improvement planning process.