A committee appointed by Governor Doug Ducey to study education is telling him the state needs to pay its teachers more.
The Classroom First Initiative Council says there also need to be bonuses for teaching in hard-to-staff schools and for teachers doing a good job of educating underprivileged kids.
But Jim Swanson, who co-chairs the committee with Ducey, said he has no idea where to get the extra money. On the other hand, the governor said he’s not concerned about the price tag, assuming voters approve a ballot measure to increase school funding in May,
“We're going to have a larger pie," Ducey said. "We're going to have $3.5 billion added to the pie once we're successful with Proposition 123.”
Ducey said the recommendations, which are not yet final, are part of a larger plan to make sure the money going to education is used effectively. He acknowledged the need to hike teacher pay to make sure educators feel respected, rewarded and are retained.