Delaware’s Public Education Compensation Committee is struggling to agree on a plan to raise public school teachers’ base salaries.
The Committee, formed by lawmakers last year and tasked with making Delaware educators’ salaries regionally competitive, sees Maryland’s plan to raise base pay to $60,000 by 2026 as a model for Delaware.
In a meeting on Monday, the Committee reviewed a proposal supported by the state’s Office of Management and Budget that would raise the state’s contribution to teachers’ salaries to $42,000 within four to five years.
The state generally covers 70 percent of teachers’ salaries; $42,000 is 70 percent of $60,000.
But some lawmakers argue that if the state hopes to raise base salaries for all teachers, it should contribute a higher percentage in low-income districts. State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn pointed to western Sussex County as a prime example.
"Bringing western Sussex educators up to that level is going to have a disproportionate effect on [those districts]," he said. "And it’s those communities that don’t have the household income to support significant tax increases."
Budget Director Cerron Cade contends it would be unfair for the state to cover a larger share of teachers’ salaries in some districts while expecting others to raise local taxes through referenda.
The proposal also received pushback from Senate Education Committee Chair Laura Sturgeon and Delaware State Education Association President Stephanie Ingraham, who argue that lagging even a year behind Maryland could do lasting damage to Delaware students and the state's education workforce.
"Every year we delay being regionally competitive is another year that our students are negatively impacted," Sturgeon said. "And that is not something I can support."
Sturgeon and Delaware State Education Association President Stephanie Ingraham argue the impact of trailing even a year behind Maryland could compound over time. Instead, Sturgeon urged the committee to consider raising the state's contribution to teachers' base salaries by 2026 to keep pace with Maryland.
But Office of Management and Budget Director Cerron Cade maintains a longer timeline is fiscally safer and gives school districts more time to raise their contributions to teachers’ salaries.
With the Committee deadlocked, it opted to table the plan until next month. It is scheduled to issue its final recommendations at the end of this year.
