Kamala Harris pitches big increase in teacher pay

By CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO 03/23/2019 07:40 AM EDT

HOUSTON — Kamala Harris is going big on teacher pay as part of the presidential candidate’s first major policy foray.

The California Democrat will announce at a rally here Saturday that she would make the largest-ever federal investment in teacher pay — staking claim to a huge pocketbook issue that affects millions of public workers, including many who help form a key Democratic voting bloc.

Harris, who will roll out the details of her plan next week, will say she believes the country is in a teacher pay “crisis,” pointing to the 11-percent salary gap between America’s educators and those with college degrees who work in similar professions, according to an outline of her remarks shared with POLITICO.

The gap is more than 20 percent in Texas, where she’s holding her first events in the Super Tuesday state this weekend. Her plan will call for closing the gap in her first term as president.

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https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/23/kamala-harris-teacher-pay-proposal-1233066