Rocio Villalobos 
Edinburg- The Texas Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 3, which would raise the annual salaries of full-time public school teachers and librarians by $5,000.
“Most people are not in it for the salary,” said Edinburg AFT President Marsha Gonzalez. “They’re in it because they love to teach.”
Texas teachers earn a salary of $7,000 below the national average pay for teaching and Gonzalez says she believes the bill would help educators cover their expenses, including increased pensions by some school districts.
“A lot of us haven’t seen an increase for some time — especially those of us that are over 20 years of experience — the ladder kinda stops. And we don’t get very much of an increase. It’s not even the cost of living,” said Gonzalez.
Since the Edinburg chapter of the American Federation of Teachers was established 11 years ago, it has grown to around 400 members including teachers, bus drivers, security guards and other occupations employed by schools.
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