Gov. Asa Hutchinson has surprised many state lawmakers with a proposal to boost teacher salaries as a possible item in a special session that he said he could call as soon as July or August.
According to a report from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with a projected state surplus of $1.47 billion in fiscal 2022 that ends June 30, Hutchinson has repeatedly brought up in the past two months the possibility of calling a special session to provide more tax relief to Arkansans struggling with inflation, including the rising costs of food and gasoline.
At a news conference Thursday, the Republican governor added public school security and safety as another item for the possible special session. That comes on the heels of the May 24 attack in Uvalde, Texas, by a lone gunman at an elementary school that left 19 students and two teachers dead and 17 others injured.
Hutchinson, whose eight-year stint as governor ends in January, acknowledged Thursday that there have been ongoing discussions about the possibility of raising teacher salaries, but “we have got to look at the entire budget picture and the uncertainty in the economy in the future and make a judgment as to what we can do and when we can do it.”
Hutchinson spokeswoman Shealyn Sowers said that Hutchinson the proposal to raise teacher salaries to a minimum of $46,000 and implementing at least a $4,000 salary increase. Under Act 170 of 2019, the minimum teacher salary is $34,900 in the 2021-2022 school year and will increase to $36,000 in the 2022-2023 school year.
More on the story can be read on the KTLO Website.
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