Proposed House Bill 2344 would place a cap on Superintendent salaries in Missouri

Jefferson City, Mo. (KBSI)- Missouri Representative Ben Keathley is supporting proposed House Bill 2344.

The bill would put a cap on Superintendent salaries in Missouri, Superintendents could not make more than five and a half times the salary of a first-year teacher.

The minimum salary of a first-year teacher is $25,000.

For the 2034-2024 school district the Missouri statewide average of a first-year teacher is around $34,000.

The state house is considering Keathley’s bill.

According to Keathley the bill is to make sure that teacher’s salaries are tracking along with Superintendent’s salaries.

Keathley says this is a bipartisan issue but not everyone agrees.

CEO of Education Plus, Chris Gaines isn’t onboard with the bill and says decisions like educators’ salaries should be left up to each individual district.

“Decisions on compensation are best left to our locally elected boards of education whether that be a teacher, a custodian, a bus driver, principal or a superintendent,” says Gaines.

The bill was reviewed during a special committee meeting on education reform, but it is unclear if or when the bill will be approved.