Controversial teacher pay bill clears final hurdle for final vote tomorrow
03/02/2016
A controversial bill to allow administrators to pay select teachers more at the expense of a majority of other teachers has cleared another hurdle toward passage. SB 10 was heard on 2nd reading today, which allowed legislators to offer amendments before being eligible for a final vote as early as Thursday.
Several amendments were offered, all by House Democrats. However, each amendment was defeated largely on party-lines. Accepting just one amendment would have sent the bill back to the Senate for approval, effectively killing it for further consideration. Senate leaders have made clear they won’t support SB 10 or any bill similar to it.
Several of the amendments offered addressed concerns House Republicans had about similar provisions that were struck from HB 1004, namely enabling bonus pay deals to be conducted behind closed doors.
The actions by the House Republicans were all about protecting the House Republicans and not honoring the legislative process, protecting the public from back room deals or respecting teachers.
We encourage everyone to continue reaching out to their representatives by email, using our advocacy program, or by calling the House switchboard at 800-382-9842.