DOVER- On Thursday, lawmakers introduced a bill that would ensure charter school educators and staff receive the salary increases that have been intended for them by the General Assembly.
House Bill 335, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, Rep. Sherae’a “Rae” Moore, Sen. Laura Sturgeon, and Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, would require that charter school employees receive salary increases, supplements, or one-time adjustments in the same manner as their counterparts in other public schools.
Additionally, the bill would require that state funds allocated to charter schools for increasing educator pay be used for that specific purpose.
“The General Assembly and Governor Carney have worked to meaningfully increase educator compensation in the last several years. This investment, in addition to many recent legislative changes, will play a critical role in recruiting and retaining public school educators and school employees,” said Rep. Kim Williams, Chair of the House Education Committee and Co-Chair of the Joint Finance Committee.
“While I support the important role that Delaware’s charter schools play as laboratories of innovation, the fair compensation of the educators that they trust with the care of students should not be a part of their experiments,” said Sen. Laura Sturgeon, chair of the Senate Education Committee and Senate prime sponsor of HB 335.
“As Delaware faces a steep educator shortage, we need the salaries of all public educators – in both district and charter schools – to keep pace with our neighboring states,” she said. “Just as we instructed school bus contractors to pass on additional funding to their drivers a few years ago, we also need to be sure our charter school educators are receiving the pay raises we specifically funded for that purpose.”
The General Assembly approved a 9% raise for educators for fiscal year 2024 and Governor Carney has included $45.2 million for increasing public education salaries in his recommended budget for fiscal year 2025.
When factoring in the recommendations from the Public Education Compensation Committee (PECC), the state could be looking at an increase of nearly $260 million for educator pay spanning fiscal years 2024 to 2028.
“Our hardworking public school employees deserve recognition for their dedication to our students and should benefit from these investments no matter the school they work in. This legislation addresses a loophole in our code and will ensure that the intent behind the taxpayer funding for increased educator compensation is fully realized in all our schools throughout the state in the years to come,” Rep. Williams added.
While charter schools receive a portion of this funding to increase their educators’ and staff’s compensation, the current state code lacks a clear mandate for charter schools to extend permanent salary increases.
HB 335 would address this gap by requiring all schools to pass along these increases to their educators and staff.
“The well-deserved salary increases demonstrate Delaware’s commitment to retain and recruit amazing educators. Unfortunately, many charter schools are keeping this just and intended compensation away from teachers and their families. Their decision clearly reverses the legislation’s purpose and will have detrimental effects on our students’ education and future,” said Tami Soltow, an educator at Delaware Military Academy.
“Charter School teachers are dedicated public professionals who provide a free high quality public education to all Delaware students and as such we fully support this bill.”
HB 335 has been assigned to the House Education Committee.