that will provide a $5,000 annual pay raise for fulltime classroom teachers and librarians. The estimated cost for the increases would be around $4 billion over the next two years.
Senate Bill 3 is one step closer to advance to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law.
Abbott declared teacher pay an emergency item at his State of the State speech last month, which set up the fast pace that the proposal has gone through in the legislative process.
The bill now passes on to the House of Representatives, where it's expected that is could possibly face some opposition. House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, RAngleton, has stated that he would prefer to provide local school districts more flexibility with how they spend the funds in question.
Back in January Bonnen remarked that he felt the state would be better off giving school districts the money and that they decide how to manage their own salaries and pay for their teachers.