On Monday state lawmakers will start tackling a bill to help protect teacher pay.
The bill would make the state's last sales tax increase permanent. It's set to expire in three years, and it redirects a portion of the revenue to teacher pay.
Prop 301 has been in place since 2000 and dedicated the increased sales tax to education. The tax generates about $500 million for K-12 classrooms each year.
About 75% of that goes to the classroom site fund. Almost half of that fund covers things like dropout prevention, tutoring, teacher development and the rest goes towards teacher pay.
This bill, being heard by the House Education Committee, proposes the entire classroom site fund be used to increase wages.
Governor Ducey has said he will not raise any taxes so this is a way to restructure current tax revenue and funnel more to teachers.
Supporters say it's a small step, but a first step to help grow paychecks for Arizona's teachers.
