An Act to Establish a Minimum Hourly Wage for School Support Staff
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1237
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: COLLINGS, BRENNER, PAULHUS, TALBOT ROSS, JACKSON
Amends: 20-A MRSA §4015

Legislative Document
No. 1237
H.P. 785
House of Representatives, March 21, 2023
An Act to Establish a Minimum Hourly Wage for School Support 
Staff
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative COLLINGS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator BRENNER of Cumberland and
Representatives: PAULHUS of Bath, Speaker TALBOT ROSS of Portland, Senator: President 
JACKSON of Aroostook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §4015 is enacted to read:
§4015.  Minimum hourly wage for school support staff
1. Definition.  For the purposes of this section, "school support staff" means a public 
school employee who is not an administrator, as defined in section 13001-A, subsection 1, 
and is not a certified teacher or career and technical education teacher subject to the 
minimum salary requirement pursuant to section 13407. 
2. Minimum hourly wage.  For the school year starting after June 30, 2024, and for 
each subsequent school year, the minimum hourly wage for school support staff is as 
follows:
A. For the school year starting after June 30, 2024, the minimum hourly wage is $17 
per hour;
B. For the school year starting after June 30, 2025, the minimum hourly wage is $18 
per hour;
C. For the school year starting after June 30, 2026, the minimum hourly wage is $19 
per hour; 
D. For the school year starting after June 30, 2027, the minimum hourly wage is $20 
per hour; and
E. For the school year starting after June 30, 2028, and for each subsequent school year, 
the minimum hourly wage then in effect must be increased by the increase, if any, in 
the cost of living.
3.  Cost-of-living increases.  The increase in the cost of living must be measured by 
the percentage increase, if any, as of August of the previous year over the level as of August 
of the year preceding that year in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and 
Clerical Workers, CPI-W, for the Northeast Region, or its successor index, as published by 
the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics or its successor agency, 
with the amount of the minimum hourly wage increase rounded to the nearest multiple of 
5¢. If the highest federal minimum hourly wage is increased in excess of the minimum 
hourly wage in effect under this section, the minimum hourly wage under this section is 
increased to the same amount, effective on the same date as the increase in the federal 
minimum hourly wage, and must be increased in accordance with this section thereafter.
Sec. 2.  State contribution.  Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
20-A, chapter 606-B, for the school years starting after June 30, 2024, June 30, 2025 and 
June 30, 2026 only, the State shall provide 50% of the additional funding necessary to 
achieve the minimum hourly wage for school support staff established under Title 20-A, 
section 4015. The Department of Education shall determine the additional funding 
necessary to achieve the minimum hourly wage for school support staff for each school 
administrative unit through the collection of data from school administrative units. A 
school administrative unit shall provide to the department on or before October 1, 2023 the 
current wage per hour paid to school support staff eligible for the minimum hourly wage 
in Title 20-A, section 4015.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a minimum hourly wage for school support staff in an amount 
equal to $17 beginning in the school year starting after June 30, 2024; $18 beginning in the 
school year starting after June 30, 2025; $19 beginning in the school year starting after June 
30, 2026; $20 beginning in the school year starting after June 30, 2027; and increased by 
the increase, if any, in the cost of living for each subsequent school year starting after June 
30, 2028. This bill also requires the State to cover 50% of the cost for the increase in the 
minimum hourly wage for school support staff for the first 3 school years the increase is in 
effect.
Under this bill, "school support staff" means all public school employees who are not 
school administrators and who are not certified teachers or career and technical education 
teachers subject to minimum salary requirements under the Maine Revised Statutes.