Missouri superintendents react to upcoming changes in state education

MISSOURI (WGEM) – Superintendents in Missouri reacted to education legislation that went into effect earlier this month.

Senate Bill 727 introduced 21 different provisions to The Show-Me State’s education landscape. One of them is a raise in the minimum salary for teachers.

Currently, the minimum pay is $25,000 a year. Starting this fall, that will increase to $40,000 for educators. The number is higher for those with a master’s degree and at least ten years of teaching experience. Their base salary will become $46,000.

It is part of an effort to increase teacher satisfaction and retention. Ralls County R-II Superintendent David Koogler explained his district already pays teachers a base of $41,000, but higher salaries alone may not be enough to keep some educators around.

“That in itself is not enough to draw teachers in. They want to make sure that the administration has their back, they want to make sure that the community supports them, that they are respected, that they’re not going to get challenged at every little thing,” Koogler said. “But definitely, increasing pay is a good first step.”

Superintendent Susan Johnson of Hannibal Public Schools (HPS) shared a similar sentiment.

“Is it enough? I mean, I certainly hope it is. It’s certainly moving in the right direction. So, I think that’s a great thing,” Johnson said. HPS’ current base pay for teachers is $40,400.

SB 727 requires all school districts in Missouri to achieve the raise in minimum teacher salary. If unable, they could face cuts to funding.

Koogler said that is a point of worry.

“I am very concerned about that,” Koogler said. “Basically, it sends the message that if you’re too poor to afford these salary increases, you’re really going to be poor.”

School districts can utilize the newly created Teacher Baseline Salary Grant Fund to help pay those salaries. It is essentially a pool of funds appropriated by the General Assembly that districts can dip into if needed. The language of SB 727 reads the General Assembly, “may” appropriate money to the fund. That word spelled some concern for Johnson.

Base teacher salaries starting in the 2028-29 school year and all subsequent school years are required to be adjusted annually by the percentage increase in inflation. Koogler noted it may be difficult for some districts to cut expenditures to pay higher salaries down the line.

Also created in SB 727 is the Elementary Literacy Fund. It provides matching grants to schools in order to send books to K-5 students. Six to nine books can be sent to any individual student. Grants cannot exceed $60 per student, per semester.

Johnson praised this aspect of the bill.

“I think that’s a great thing. Anytime we can get books and literature in a student’s hand, that’s wonderful,” Johnson said.

There is also more incentive for a five-day school week wrapped into the legislation.

Districts with a five-day school week will receive additional funds. They will get a kickback of 1% of their state aid to go toward teacher salaries in 2026-27, and 2% of that in the following years.

As another part of SB 727, the non-emergency phone number for the local police department will be added to the ID cards of students in grades 7-12. That starts July. The ID cards may also include a suicide hotline number.

Koogler referred to poor student mental health as, “a pandemic that needs to come to an end.”

He said he has noticed a decline in students’ well-being since a couple years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

More information on SB 727 can be found here.

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