NWA's largest school districts bump teacher pay

Northwest Arkansas' biggest school districts will increase starting pay and grant raises to all teachers in the upcoming school year.

Why it matters: Pay structures continue to be business as usual with the state's larger school districts in the second school year since Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' LEARNS Act passed.

• Pay is up overall at the smaller districts; however, teachers are less likely to see annual raises or pay incentives for more experience or education.

New teachers with bachelor's degrees will earn:

• $54,424, up from $51,924 at Bentonville.
• $53,600, up from $53,000 at Springdale.
• $53,000, up from $52,000 at Fayetteville.
• $52,500, up from $50,000 at Rogers.

How it works: All of the four largest districts guarantee annual raises and pay more if a teacher has a master's degree or experience despite not being required to do so by the state. That's not the case at most of the smaller districts in the region.

• A teacher with a master's would make $60,869 in their fifth year on the job in Bentonville, for example.

Flashback: The LEARNS Act increased minimum teacher pay statewide from $36,000 to $50,000 starting with the 2023-24 school year. The largest districts in NWA already paid just under or more than that, but some of the smaller districts saw big jumps in starting salaries.

• The law also did away with a requirement to offer higher pay based on more experience or more education. Teachers are no longer guaranteed to receive annual raises.

By the numbers: Siloam Springs kept salary schedules post-LEARNS. This year, it will boost starting pay from $50,000 to $50,500 and give raises across the board. Gentry also increased its starting pay from the minimum to $50,500.

• Farmington's pay will stay the same as last year. It offers $250 annual raises beginning with teachers' sixth year and a $51,000 starting pay for those with master's degrees.
• Likewise, pay at Pea Ridge, Greenland and Prairie Grove will not change. Teachers at Greenland will make $50,000 unless they have 15 years of experience with a master's degree or 25 years of experience with a bachelor's degree.
• It's a similar case at Prairie Grove, where pay climbs after 12 years for those with master's degrees and 16 years for those with bachelor's degrees.

Zoom out: Lincoln and Decatur are the only districts in Benton and Washington counties with no version of a salary schedule; both are paying the state-mandated $50,000 to all teachers.

• Decatur plans to give teachers a $500 retention bonus in October. Before LEARNS, teachers started out at $40,000 at Lincoln and $36,000 at Decatur.

Elkins met LEARNS requirements in the 2023-24 school year but has approved a new salary schedule for next year that includes starting pay of $51,500 for new teachers with master's degrees.

• Teachers with 5-10 years of experience will receive $500 more per year and then another $1,000 for 11-15 years, and so on.
• Gravette will also begin offering pay incentives for more education, starting new teachers with master's degrees with $50,750 instead of the state minimum.