If elected president in 2020, California Senator, Kamala Harris says in her first term, she will implement a plan to eliminate Iowa’s teacher pay gap by raising the average salary $12,200. “Our country’s success is a product of the two groups who raise our children: parents and teachers,” Harris says. “We are not paying our teachers their value.” The investment in the country’s future, according to Harris, will eliminate the need for teachers to work two or three jobs and will raise their annual salaries to be more commensurate with other similar professions in the state. The plan includes an immediate federal investment of 10 percent towards closing the 11 percent gap. They would then incentivize states to fund the remaining one percent. For every $1 a state invests in increasing teacher pay, the government will provide $3 to eliminate the disparity within four years. In addition, the Department of Education would set a base salary goal and districts will increase salaries until they meet the minimum. The estimated $315 billion, 10-year plan would be funded by strengthening estate tax and on filling the associated tax loopholes for the country’s wealthiest individuals. Harris has announced she will be campaigning in Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday, April 10 and 11th, but details on her campaign stops have not yet been released.
