Districts getting money to raise teacher salaries
Teacher Salary Equalization Fund created during Legislative session
The Forrest City School District will be receiving funding from the state to increase teacher salaries.
Other districts in this part of the state that will also receive money from the state’s new Teacher Salary Equalization Fund include Wynne, Barton Lexa, Helena-West Helena, Marvell-Elaine and KIPP Delta.
According to the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, 22 of the state’s 24 public charter school systems will receive money through the new fund, as will 52 of the state’s 238 public school districts.
The Teacher Salary Equalization Fund, created by lawmakers during this year’s legislative session, is designed to address disparities in teacher salaries within the state and low salaries compared with other states. The Teacher Salary Equalization Fund resources are to be spent only for teacher salaries and benefits, according to a state agency memorandum that was distributed with the list of districts eligible for funding.
To qualify for the funding, districts have to be paying less than the state’s average teacher salary. Districts also cannot be recipients of the Education Compensation Reform Program, which helps districts meet the state’s minimum requirement for teacher salaries.
The Legislature agreed that for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, the targeted average annal salary should be $51,822.
According to the Arkansas Department of Education, the average classroom salary in the FCSD is $49,445. The district will receive $381,582.85 as its preliminary allocation for the 2021-22 school year.
The Wynne School District has an average classroom salary of $50,190. That district will receive $470,689.95 through the salary equalization program.
The average salary for Barton-Lexa is $47,451. That district will receive $128,082.90. In the HWH District, the average salary is $42,633, giving that district $213,602.85 to spend on teacher salaries.
In the Marvell-Elaine District, the average salary is $47,566, and that district will receive $60,385.85. KIPP Delta, which has an average salary of $46,898, will receive $214,202,25.