Iowa House passes largest teacher pay increase in state history

DES MOINES. Iowa (Gray Television Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Iowa teachers could soon get a sizeable pay increase. Lawmakers in the Iowa House Thursday passed a bill raising the minimum teacher salary to $47,500, a nearly 50% increase for starting teachers.

The increase is the largest teacher pay increase in the state’s history. By raising starting pay to $47,500, it puts the state at 12th in the nation for average teacher pay.

In her Condition of the State Address, Governor Kim Reynolds told lawmakers she wants starting pay to increase to $50,000.

This bill meets that request in the 2026 school year. Republican State Rep. Bill Gustoff of Des Moines said, “The $50,000 minimum salary is an increase of 49.3% and would put Iowa 5th in the nation as an average new teacher salary.”

Teachers aren’t the only ones getting a pay raise. Democratic State Rep. Sue Cahill of Marshalltown said, “Additional funds have been allocated to bring the minimum starting salary of our non-salaried employees, our paras, our bus drivers, our nutrition workers, our secretarial and administrative staff for that personnel to $15 per hour.”

The bill passed the House in what one lawmaker called a “rare Kumbaya moment” in a 92 to 1 vote.

School districts have to submit their budgets to the Iowa Department of Education soon, but they don’t yet know how much state funding they’ll get because lawmakers have yet to pass an education budget.

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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Television-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.

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