In his 2019 State of the State address, fresh into his first full four-year term, Gov. Henry McMaster called on the Legislature to invest in teachers.
The state's starting pay then was below the Southeastern average, around $32,000.
In his address to the Legislature in January, McMaster urged the General Assembly to spend millions more to raise the minimum starting pay to at least $50,000.
Lawmakers put enough money in the budget starting July 1 to bring start pay to $48,500.
"South Carolina’s minimum starting teacher salary is now higher than both Georgia and North Carolina. But will that keep and attract the best and brightest teachers?" McMaster said in his 2025 state address. "That’s why I ask you to raise our minimum starting teacher salary to $50,000 this year, not next year. In this race for the future, we must be the fastest."
The governor's request could finally become a reality in the next year if lawmakers approve the state Department of Education's budget request.
The department will ask lawmakers to spend $150 million annually to increase the state's starting teacher pay to $50,500 and give a $2,000 raise across the entire teacher salary step schedule. (Some of the state's school districts pay higher than the minimum starting salary).
The request is part of the education departments nearly $390 million budget request that asks for money for instructional materials, summer reading camps, school infrastructure, school security, K-12 school vouchers and a teacher career ladder pilot program.
McMaster will unveil his executive budget in January.
The S.C. House passes its budget plan in March, and the Senate follows in April.
The education department requests comes as a new report says South Carolina school districts reported 706 classroom vacancies at the start of the 2025-26 school year — a 32% decrease in teacher vacancies compared to last year.
The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement's 2026 Supply and Demand report also showed data from 74 of 75 public school districts that teacher departures are down for the third year.
South Carolina's teacher advocacy groups, like the Palmetto State Teachers Association, on Tuesday credited that news in part to rising teacher pay.
"The downward trend is almost certainly correlated with the continued upward trend in educator salaries, with this year’s starting statewide minimum teacher salary of $48,500 representing a 35% increase compared to 2020," said Patrick Kelly, a teacher and the group's director of governmental affairs. "Numerous districts across the state have built on the record investments made by the General Assembly, led by Charleston County increasing starting pay to nearly $65,000."
