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House, Senate reach stalemate on teacher raises Thursday, Apr 6, 2006 By Aaron Sadler Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A rapidly progressing special legislative session hit significant snag Wednesday that could keep lawmakers at the Capitol passed a hoped-for Friday adjournment as House leaders resisted a Senate plan to increase the statewide minimum teacher salary by 3.3 percent. A House proposal would raise the minimum starting salary for teachers by 1.6 percent, mirroring the increase expected to be added to the statewide school funding formula. House Speaker Bill Stovall, D-Quitman, said legislators were meeting privately to discuss the salary issue. Stovall supports the smaller wage hike. "There is a discussion continuing to try to come to resolution on what the minimum salary schedule should be," Stovall said. "I have no concerns that in the next few days this problem won't work itself out." Senate President Pro Tem Jim Argue, D-Little Rock, said the issue would not derail but could prolong the special session. "The disagreement is serious enough to threaten the expedited session and cause us to come back next week," Argue said. "A delay would not be catastrophic. Getting it right is more important than doing it quickly." Gov. Mike Huckabee and legislative leaders said last week there was wide agreement on the major education proposals. They hoped the session could be concluded by the end of the week. It had been moving at a brisk pace, with both chambers adopting measures to increase the state minimum wage, ban protests at funerals and toughen penalties for sexual predators. The Senate and a House committee have already endorsed a workplace smoking ban, as well. Tom Kimbrell, director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, said more than 60 of Arkansas' 251 school districts would actually lose money if required to add 3.3 percent to each annual step of the minimum salary schedule. Kimbrell testified against the plan in the Senate Education Committee on Monday, and his group was meeting Wednesday night to discuss the possible compromise. Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, one of the chief authors of the bill, said any districts that lose money also would have to lose enrollment. The formula is based on per-student funding. Broadway said it would be mathematically possible that the proposed school funding increase would not be enough to cover raises in a school district at the higher, 3.3 percent rate if the district had taken in another district in a consolidation or if it is overstaffed. "There may be some but not very many, I don't think, that fall in that category," he said. Argue, who is also chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the superintendents did not take into account separate legislation that would provide an additional $10 million in aide to district with declining enrollment. Senate Bill 24 by Sen. Hank Wilkins IV, D-Pine Bluff, was recommended Wednesday by the Senate Education Committee. Including money from SB 24 in the equation would decrease the number of districts pressured by the pay increase to no more than 14, Argue said. He also noted that many districts have millions of dollars in reserves. However, Stovall said that the bill providing money for districts with declining enrollment "has absolutely nothing to do with this issue. I was against the declining enrollment bill and only agreed to it to get things rolling." Kimbrell said he thought until late Tuesday that both the House and Senate were in agreement on the larger increase. "It's pretty much at a standstill right now, from what I understand," Kimbrell said Wednesday. "There's still lots of conversation going on." The House and Senate education committees responded to a state Supreme Court order by recommending the inflation increases. Legislative staffers adjusted the salaries component of the funding formula at 3.3 percent inflation, but other adjustments decreased the overall inflation percentage. "If we're going to get an increase of 1.6 percent, then that increase ought to flow to staff at the same percentage," Kimbrell said. Stovall said the 1.6 percent increase is similar to other cost-of-living relief given to districts in previous legislative sessions. "I have been an advocate of 1.6 for several weeks now, because it demonstrates the history of the General Assembly," the speaker said. Reps. Mike Kenney, R-Siloam Springs, and Shirley Walters, R-Greenwood, both said they had concerns about the 3.3 percent raise requirement. Both are members of the House Education Committee. "I know there's some fussing going on in the House and the Senate on some deal that was supposed to have been made," Kenney said. "I wasn't there when the deal was made so I'm not sure what's right and what's not." Walters said she never supported a 3.3 percent adjustment during hearings in February and March on educational adequacy. At that time, Walters pushed for a 3 percent increase equivalent to the cost-of-living raise given to state employees. ----- Arkansas News Bureau reporter Doug Thompson contributed to this report. |
