A Democratic State Senator says she will try again to offer an amendment to the education funding bill – to raise the state minimum salary for teachers to 32-thousand dollars a year.
The current minimum is $22,000. Gov. Jack Dalrymple has proposed raising that to $27,500. But Sen. Joan Heckaman (D-New Rockford) says the average statewide starting salary is $32,000. And she believes that should be the statewide minimum.
"We have top notch teachers coming out of our colleges and universities," Heckaman said. "Other states covet them. Let's keep them here."
Heckaman says the amendment has been turned down in the Senate Education Committee – of which she is a member. She says once the bill gets to the Senate floor, she will offer it as a floor amendment.