Five figure raises for senior government staff > teacher pay raises

All eyes are on the governor and all mouths are on the floor as Sanders sends teachers to the back of the bus. Despite widespread public support to raise teacher pay, Arkansas’s elected leaders ignore this real problem and instead raise pay for themselves and senior staff. 

Teachers across the state eagerly await introduction of legislation to raise teacher pay, which currently starts at a breathtakingly low $36,000/year. In the meantime, the governor and the state legislature approved significant pay raises for themselves and senior staff. In fact, for some positions, the raises themselves total more than the entire annual salary of Arkansas teachers. Priorities, right?