Are teachers worth more? Kamala Harris proposes significant pay boost for teachers in first major policy plan of presidential campaign

Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA)

March 27-- Mar. 27--In the wake of major teacher strikes in California around the country, Sen. Kamala Harris is proposing a big federal investment in boosting teacher pay, the first major policy proposal rollout of her presidential campaign.

Harris' plan would invest $315 billion in federal funds over 10 years to give public school teachers across the country a raise, helping close the average pay gap of 11 percent between teachers and other college-educated professionals.

In California, the average teacher would receive a $10,300 raise, according to Harris' campaign, and teachers in schools serving more low-income students would be paid even more. The federal government would pay states the first 10 percent of the funds necessary to end the pay gap and then incentivize states to invest more by giving them an additional three dollars for every one dollar the state spent on raising teacher pay.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the influential American Federation of Teachers, said in an interview that Harris' plan "sets the policy bar high" for her fellow presidential contenders.

"This is about trying to not just say that teaching is important but actually act like it is," Weingarten said. "Her plan shows the kind of out-of-the-box thinking you need to do to solve a problem that everybody understands right now."

The California senator would pay for the raises with changes to the federal estate tax as well as eliminating other tax loopholes. Other Democratic presidential candidates have also suggested reversing President Trump's cuts to the estate tax to fund other proposals, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren's plan to build more affordable housing.

Harris framed her proposal as a response to teachers around the country who have gone on strike to call for better pay and more resources to do their jobs.

"From West Virginia to Oklahoma to California, educators are standing up in solidarity for dignity and equity in our classrooms," Harris said in a statement. "They deserve a president who supports them."

Her plan comes as the strikes have shone a spotlight on the difficulties teachers face. Relatively low pay has led to high staff turnover, especially in schools with many low-income and minority students. And 12 percent of California teachers have taken on a second job just to make ends meet, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"It's about time that this became a national conversation," said Chaz Garcia, a teacher coach at the Oakland Unified School District who's worked in the city's schools for 23 years. "We've lost so many talented people over the years just because they can't afford to stay in teaching. I hardly know anybody (working in the district) who doesn't have at least two jobs."

When Oakland teachers were preparing for their strike last month, Garcia said, they ordered Chinese food delivered to their union headquarters on the delivery service DoorDash. The courier who showed up to drop off the meal was one of their colleagues working a night shift.

The weeklong strike, which ended earlier this month, led to Oakland teachers winning a 11 percent raise through 2021 and a 3 percent one-time bonus, as well as a small reduction in class sizes. Los Angeles teachers stopped work for six days in January, winning a 6 percent raise and a gradual class size decrease.

Their success has helped inspire several other Bay Area teachers unions: Dublin teachers have voted to authorize a strike amid negotiations with the district, and Mt. Diablo Unified School District teachers protested before a school board meeting Monday, saying they were nearing such a vote as well.

Teacher pay has been an especially big issue for the Bay Area, where many teachers struggle to afford to live near the schools where they work.

Harris' plan could also help her build support among the disproportionately female education workforce and with teacher unions that play powerful roles in Democratic politics.

Other presidential candidates have put forward proposals for free college tuition and early childhood education, and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has introduced legislation to increase funding for teacher training programs, but Harris' plan appears to be the first by a 2020 White House contender to raise teacher pay.

Hugh Bussell, the chair of the Alameda County Republican Party and a former high school math and science teacher in the East Bay, said that Harris' plan wasn't worth its big price tag.

"While it's very attractive to think that raising salaries would solve a lot of problems, I don't think any teacher worth their salt would say 'if you gave me another $10,000 a year, I would do a much better job at teaching than I'm doing,'" Bussell said. He argued that more effective reforms would involve loosening union rules in order to raise salaries for the best teachers based on merit.

But advocates say paying teachers more across the board would help keep the best from departing for more lucrative jobs.

"A lot of research shows that the more experience teachers have, the more effective they become," said Catherine Brown, a fellow with the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, who helped consult on the proposal. "It has a direct impact on the students."

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