Texas Governor Announces $1.6B Deal For Teacher Raises

May 24, 2019

Texas's lawmakers announced on Thursday that they have passed legislation to spend $1.6 billion on raises for teachers.

Pancake crashes the press conference announcing teacher pay raises

The final version of the bill also includes increasing classroom spending by $4.5 billion.

"In the inauguration, I made some pretty bold promises to the people of Texas," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott, sworn into his second term in January. "I said we must reward teachers in school districts that achieve results, we've done that. I said we must prioritize spending in the classroom, we've done that."

"I said we will do what no one thought possible. We will finally fix school finance in Texas. And I'm proud to tell you today we are announcing that we have done exactly that."

The proposal also includes a merit program to pay exceptional teachers even more.

"Eventually they could make a six-figure living and not have to go into being a principal or administration," said Rep. Dan Huberty, the Texas House chairman over public education.