HOUSTON — Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced on Saturday her plan to use federal funds to boost teacher pay by an unprecedented level, the first policy roll-out of her campaign.
The California Democrat laid out her idea during a rally at Texas Southern University, a historic black institution in Houston, Texas. It was the senator’s second public event in the Lone Star State in as many days.
“We are a society that pretends to care about education, but not the education of other people’s children. And we’ve got to deal with that,” Harris told the crowd of 2,400 people. “We are not paying our teachers their value… That ain’t right!”
“So I decided in Harris County today to unveil, to announce, for the first time publicly an initiative of what I’m proposing, which will be the largest federal investment in teacher salaries in the history of the United States,” she said. “And I pledge to you that by the end of my first term we will have improved teacher salaries to close the pay gap because right now teachers are making over 10 percent less than other college-educated graduates.”
Harris reacted to anticipated criticism over how she intended to finance her plan, saying the question should be what is the return on the investment.
“We have got to think about how we can bridge the gap between helplessness and hope,” she said, quoting former President Lyndon Johnson who taught in Texas. “We have got to reject people that don’t understand the importance of bridging gaps, and instead of building bridges want to build a wall that is a vanity project.”
A campaign aide earlier Saturday told the Washington Examiner public school teachers on average earn about 11 percent less than other professionals and teachers, more generally, make about $1,000 less than they were 30 years ago. These statistics worse for women and teachers of color, the staffer said.
Response to the proposal, a change from current local and state government dominance on the issue, was greeted on Saturday with enthusiasm by the American Federation of Teachers and its president, Randi Weingarten, ahead of more details being released on Tuesday. Weingarten’s endorsement could give Harris an edge among the other contenders in the crowded Democratic 2020 primary field.
“THIS is incredible!! @KamalaHarris is putting attracting & retaining teachers front and center. This would make a huge difference in the lives of educators, our students and our communities,” Weingarten tweeted.
THIS is incredible!! @KamalaHarris is putting attracting & retaining teachers front and center. This would make a huge difference in the lives of educators, our students and our communities. #AFTVotes #FundOurFuture https://t.co/gwg8PysGNm
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten) March 23, 2019
Thank you @KamalaHarris for putting teachers front and center. #AFTVotes https://t.co/ko1rcDSBwt
— AFT (@AFTunion) March 23, 2019
Harris will continue her southern swing on Sunday, traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, for a service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Martin Luther King’s pastoral home, and a rally at Morehouse College, another HBCU.
