One in three school districts (58 of the state’s 171) provided no raise for teachers and other certified employees this school year, according to an annual report released by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). 1 That’s a jump from one in four (40 districts) last year. Of the school districts that did give raises to certified employees in 2026-2027, 61% (69 districts) were increases of 2% or lower, far below the 3.4% increase in inflation for the year ending in July. The report shows similar wage stagnation for classified employees like bus drivers and cafeteria workers.
This year’s data continues a long-term trend. State funding for public education has fallen far behind the cost of living since the Great Recession, and the 2026-2028 state budget did not reverse that. State disinvestment is the major cause of the average Kentucky school district teacher salary dropping 18% below inflation-adjusted 2008 levels as of last year. As a result, Kentucky ranks 42nd among states in average teacher pay (for the second year in a row) and has the fourth largest “teacher pay penalty,” which is the gap between what teachers make compared to other workers with college degrees.
Most districts provided either no raise or raise of 2% or less
Of Kentucky’s 171 school districts, 74% provided either no raise to certified employees for the 2026-2027 school year or a raise of 2% or less. That’s up from 56% of districts last year. An additional 30 school districts provided a raise between 2.01% and 3%, and 14 gave raises above 3%.2
Factoring in the 58 districts that provided no raises, that puts the average increase for all districts at 1.5% (compared to 2.2% last year) and the median at 1%. Current employees typically also receive a small step raise as well depending on the salary schedule in their district.
Those districts that provided raises of 4% or greater have local property wealth (measured by per pupil assessment) that is 29% greater on average than those districts that provided no raise at all. This disparity is an example of how the erosion of state funding for schools grows the gap between wealthy and poor school districts.
Classified employees also received no raises in approximately one out of three districts
As with teachers and other certified employees, many classified employees like bus drivers and cafeteria workers are also continuing to earn wages that do not keep up with the cost of living. The average percentage increase for districts was 1.4%, and the average increase for the seven districts that gave dollar amount raises was $1,007. There were 57 districts providing no raise at all to classified staff. In 2026 Kentucky ranked 49th nationally in pay for classified staff.
It’s time for a reinvestment in the people who educate Kentucky kids
The combination of decreased state funding, increased costs and growing restrictions on the ability of districts to raise revenue locally have created a difficult environment for school districts to acquire the funding they need to address the educator shortage, and for all kids to get the education they deserve.
- The report also categorized Mason County as providing no raise for certified staff but also indicated it provided a $500 raise for certified staff. Therefore, in this analysis it is counted as a district that provided a raise to teachers.
- These estimates convert the 9 districts that provided raises in dollar amounts to equivalent percentage increases using average certified employee salaries for each district reported by the Kentucky Department of Education.
