Texas State Rep. Rafael Anchía (D-Dallas, District 103) sent a letter to state leaders Tuesday calling for a "meaningful cost-of-living" adjustment for retired Texas teachers.
A call requested to be addressed in the next legislative session comes after Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced a balance of nearly $27 billion at legislators' disposal during the upcoming session.
"School employees are leaving in droves," Achía said in a press release. "Our children will suffer the consequences of this resignation crisis unless we invest in our educators. We have the money and the time is now."
Retired Texas educators have not received a cost-of-living raise since 2004. A shortage in teacher retention has increased efforts to bring new hires into the classroom.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
Editor's Note: This article originally referred to Rep. Anchia as a U.S. Congressman and a retired teacher and misidentified the audience of his letter. Those statements were not accurate and we regret the errors. This story has been corrected.
