Greetings!
MRTA’s vision has been “to promote and protect pensions, programs, and benefits of all public school personnel in retirement.” MRTA and the educational community are working together to ensure that our pension and our public education system are not damaged. Our teachers, administrators, and public education employees play a vital role in the success of our students and school districts.
In 2020, beginning Missouri teachers’ salaries ranked 49th out of the 50 states with the average salary at 45th – $50,870 compared to the national average of $64,133. The percent of Missouri total revenue spent on education was 50th at 30.7% while the national average was 47.1%. Although the financial support for public education is lagging the national average, Missouri’s student performance is above the national average. Why are our students outperforming the national average? Our teachers are making the difference. 73% of classroom teaching in Missouri is performed by teachers with over 20+ years of teaching experience, and 95% of teachers entering their 15th year of teaching will stay teaching until they reach retirement eligibility.
Since we cannot be at the Capitol in person this year due to the impact of COVID-19 and winter weather, it is more important than ever that our members make a huge impact by contacting their representatives and senators on February 8th. It is important we show we are active, we are involved, we are engaged, and we care about our students, our teachers, and our schools! Remember that there is STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!
If you would like to contact your officials directly, please use these steps below:
Step 2 – Copy and paste the letter below in an email to your legislators. Feel free to edit as personal letters are best.
Dear Representative XXXXXX:
Dear Senator XXXXXXX:
Thank you for your willingness to serve in the Missouri General Assembly. I am a constituent, former educator, and an MRTA member who lives in your district. I respectfully ask that you support HB 2430/HB 2161 sponsored by Representative Rusty Black and Representative Chris Dinkins. HB 2430/HB 2161 raises the benefit formula factor from 2.5% to 2.55% after 32 years of service for PSRS members. During a time when we are having difficulty finding substitute teachers, this legislation keeps experienced teachers in the classroom longer. The passage of HB 2430/HB 2161 would be advantageous for retirees as the legislation creates an over $16 million savings for the PSRS per year. This legislation would help alleviate our current teacher and substitute teacher shortages.
I respectfully ask that you oppose any Charter School Expansion legislation and any Voucher Tax Credit Program, such as HB 1552. These proposals take necessary funding away from public schools that are currently in need of those resources.
Thank you for your time and attention to these important issues.
Sincerely,
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ADDRESS
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