COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The South Carolina House gave key approval Thursday to a bill to reinstate some teacher raises into this year’s budget.
The bill would restore “step increase” raises for teachers, which amount to several hundred dollars a year given annually as teachers gain experience. Legislators paused the pay bumps last spring due to uncertainty of what the COVID-19 pandemic might do to the economy.
Lawmakers approved the measure 118-0. The bill faces one last vote in the House before it can move to the Senate.
The bill would dedicate up $50 million to restoring the raises for the current school year. Teachers would get the money in a lump sum payment from their school districts by June 15.
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