State of Montana Newsroom
Superintendent Elsie Arntzen Announces Another Solution to Retain and Recruit Teachers through the TEACH Act
HELENA – Superintendent Elsie Arntzen is pleased to announce the initial data release on the TEACH Act. The 67th Legislature appropriated $2,492,048 through the TEACH Act to incentivize and enhance competitive base pay for early-career teachers. This is one of the solutions to aid in the recruiting and retaining of teachers throughout Montana. Montana is ranked amongst the lowest starting salaries for teacher pay, approximately $35,000 per year.
The State will fund up to $3,472 per teacher annually for teachers in their first three years in the classroom. This increase is calculated through the school funding formula component based on MCA 20-9-306. Data collected this school year will fund the teachers next year. Currently, there are 94 school districts through 33 counties participating in the incentivized teacher pay program. In 2021, 1,646 new teachers were licensed in Montana. The data reflects that 451 teacher salaries may be supplemented by the TEACH Act beginning the school year of 2022-2023.
“As a teacher myself,” stated Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, “I am grateful that the legislature has recognized the need for incentivizing salaries for beginning teachers. Students and families deserve a quality teacher in every classroom for learning to be successful. Montana must look at all solutions.”
Superintendent Arntzen has implemented many innovative solutions to flexibly recruit and retain Montana’s best teachers. These include:
- TEACH Act
- New teacher licensing flexibilities
- Modernizing our teacher licensing system
- State hosted Virtual Teacher Job Fairs
- School quality task force
- First of its kind one-year teacher residency program
For more information, please contact Dr. Julie Murgel, Chief Operating Officer, at julie.murgel@mt.gov or (406) 444-3172.
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