I urge you to heed the call of that study. Besides pay supplements, the proposal would pay teachers for five additional days each year and forgive student loan payments for teachers who choose to work in Nebraska. It has the support of several organizations, including the Nebraska State Parent-Teacher Association. A number of people, including state teachers, who had intended to testify in support of the bill were stymied by Monday's winter storm. Some of those proposals are being deliberated in neighboring states that already offer higher teacher salaries, he said.
Teachers have to know that they're going to have more in their paychecks next year.
Only one person testified in opposition to the proposal. Marvin Fritz, an Albion farmer and former school board member, said the marketplace should determine the salary worth of teachers. I believe it's moving us dangerously toward the road to socialism. Committee members also heard testimony on three other bills dealing with teacher salaries, including one by Lincoln Sen. Chris Beutler that pulls out the task force's recommendation to extend teacher contracts by five days a year. Schools with high student-teacher ratios would see more money for teacher salary increases, while those with lower ratios would see less.