Tomorrow is the last day of the legislative session! On Tuesday, every member of the House of Representatives received over 2,000 floor notes. Each one was from a different teacher or school employee asking them to pass the MFP and fully fund teacher and school employee raises in the budget.
Today, the House returned SCR 2, the legislative instrument for the MFP, "to the calendar" instead of voting to approve it.
If the House does not pass the MFP (SCR 2) tomorrow, then teachers and support staff are not guaranteed a permanent pay increase.
If the House and Senate approve a final budget tomorrow that does include funding for teacher and school employee raises, but the MFP fails to pass, then the pay increases will only be guaranteed for one year. That’s not a guaranteed pay increase – it’s a one-time stipend. If the funding is not locked into the MFP, then there is no assurance it will be available next year.
The legislative session must adjourn no later than tomorrow at 6 P.M.
Tomorrow you can watch the proceedings live on the legislative website. The House is scheduled to convene at 9:00 am. Click here to see the agenda and watch the meeting.
If the House decides to take no action on SCR 2 again or fails to get enough votes to approve it, then teachers and school employees won’t receive a guaranteed raise. Because we are in the final days of the session, approval requires a 2/3s vote – 70 Representatives must vote “yea.”
The Senate unanimously supported the MFP and a budget that fully funded the teacher and school employee raise. Representatives have consistently said they support teachers and school employees, this is their chance to show teachers and staff the appreciation and support they deserve! LFT will keep you updated!