Annual bonuses proposed for North Dakota teachers to improve recruitment, retention

North Dakota lawmakers and state officials announced Monday a proposal that would award yearly bonuses to teachers to boost recruitment and retention.

Estimated bonuses for the first year would be about $3,400 per teacher, if lawmakers support the proposal during the 2027 legislative session.

The Support Teachers and Youth Succeed stipend, or STAYS, would use 10% of the earnings from the Common Schools Trust Fund, divided evenly among the state’s full-time public and private school teachers. The fund earnings are estimated to be $718 million for the 2025-27 biennium. 

The bonuses, awarded each fall, would increase as the fund’s earnings increase, said Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck.

“The teacher shortage in North Dakota is an urgent, statewide workforce issue and it deserves a statewide response,” Nathe said during a press conference at the Capitol.

Bonuses would be capped at 25% of a teacher’s salary, he said.

The proposal is backed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s office and Superintendent of Public Instruction Levi Bachmeier.

“The hardest part of this job is stepping into classrooms that are empty and have been repurposed into storage rooms because they can’t hire an ag teacher,” Bachmeier said Monday.

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He said he just visited a school in Nelson County that didn’t have a science teacher and students were doing their science class coursework online, which can make it hard to participate in science labs.

“We know the science of learning is clear, the quality of the instructor standing in front of the classroom, pushing students to engage in meaningful, hands-on learning is the single greatest predictor of learning,” he said. “So, we have to fill these classrooms.”

The bill is expected to be introduced when  lawmakers convene in January.

North Dakota teacher pay ranked 41st in the nation in 2024-25, according to the National Education Foundation. 

This story will be updated.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at [email protected].