I can't wait until this guy runs for Prez.  Seems like the Republicans' latest fair-haired boy has a bit of a problem with the truth.  Those things called "facts" are such a pain in the ass sometimes...

Depends on the teacher's skill level.
Inferior teachers should be fired.
I believe in merit pay for everyone, and anyone, along with employer's rights to throw out the trash.
Collective bargaining is prejudicial in the favor of dummies.

7-10% depending on salary is what we pay,  not including co-pays and deductibles,  which I'll bet are substantially more than the teachers.
Not being argumentative...just the facts. And so I might consider 1.5% for the teachers  "next to nothing".
I really do have a problem with those guys always looking for a raise under the guise "It's for the kids".
In my district it's 73K on average for 9 months work and still the teachers aren't happy.

teacher?

Can you translate that skill level to dollars? Tell us what a teacher should be paid? Then tell us how many 4th graders should be in a 4th grade teacher's class.

Teachers' salaries should be based on the locale, and the ability of the taxpayers in that locale to afford them their salaries. e.g. in NJ, the average teacher salary is $85,000/year. Not bad for 9 months work out of 12. NJ has the second highest per capita income in the U.S. In Mississippi, I would imagine the average teacher's salary is more like $45,000. Per capita income there is far less than NJ, as is the cost of living.

A 4th grade teacher worth her salt should be able to handle 20-25 kids in her class. Looking at my old 4th grade picture, there were 32 of us in that class. But that was many moons ago, and long before ADHD was invented by the quacks.

the ability of the taxpayers to pay them and 20-25 4th graders seems like a manageable class size by todays standards. The problem is that not everyone has children and education funding in most cases is funded by multiple bodies of government. This leads to chaos when money is short. A civilized society needs an educated population to survive.