Six Senators in American Samoa have sponsored legislation establishing a teacher payscale that will see teacher salaries ranging from $14,000 to up to $37,000 depending on their degree and certification.
Currently, the starting salary for teachers with an Associate of Arts degree is $10,000 a year while the starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree is $14,000 a year.
The senators' legislation introduced yesterday calls for two public teacher salary pools.
Pool A would be made up of certified teachers who have met the local Department of Education (DOE) teacher certification requirements.
The bill recommends a salary of $25,000 for those with a Bachelor degree in Education, 31 thousand for a Masters degree and 37 thousand for teachers with a Doctorate in Education
In Pool B, made up of uncertificated teachers, salaries range from $14,000 for Bachelor's in Education - up to 32 thousand for those with a Doctorate.
The bill, which is now with the Senate Education Committee for review doesn't identify the source of funding for the new payscale.
