CLOVER, S.C. — The Clover School district is raising the starting salary for teachers up to $50,000.
The school board approved the move on Monday as part of the district’s $138 million budget.
The district is the first in York County with a base salary of $50,000. School officials said they hope the increase will attract more teachers.
Zoie Strauss is a first-year teacher at Bethel Elementary School. She said she is often asked if she’s sure teaching is what she wants to do for a living.
“Everyone’s always like, ‘Are you sure you want to be a teacher, you know? They don’t get paid much,’” Strauss explained.
Strauss said she was making just under $50,000 when she started teaching in the district this year.
She said she believed the pay bump would motivate teachers to stay in the classrooms.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s so amazing.’ Because teachers do so much, and they deserve so much more than what we’ve gotten so far,” Strauss said. “I think especially with new schools being built in Clover School District within these next couple of years. It’s really going to attract people to Clover School District because they value their staff and their faculty.”
The district told Channel 9 that the adjustment to the salaries is in line with the state’s desired minimum goal.
Strauss said she hopes more districts will follow Clover’s lead.
“The Clover School District recognizes that ‘Hey. These teachers need more for what they’re doing.’ I think that other school districts in your county and everywhere else need to do the same thing,” Strauss expressed.
The salary increase is set to take place next school year.
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