Stacey Abrams is proposing a big teacher pay raise in her run for governor, saying Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s much-touted $5,000 across-the-board increase is not enough to recruit new teachers and retain current teachers.
Georgia has long had the highest average teacher pay in the South, but Abrams is proposing a $1.65 billion bump over four years. She would raise the typical starting salary to $50,000 from the current level just under $40,000 and increase average teacher pay to $75,000 from $60,553 this past school year.
Abrams said that would boost Georgia, which currently ranks 21st in pay nationwide into the top 10.
