Democrats call for more money to pay teachers

A key democrat says the Iowa Legislature needs to “pony up” some new money to ensure Iowa’s minimum teacher salary is raised. Representative Dick Myers of Iowa City is the new leader of House democrats.Myers and other democrats will oppose Republican-led efforts to cut other areas of education to finance a teacher salary boost.Myers says nobody likes to pay taxes, but improving the state’s education system should be a higher priority for lawmakers.Iowa’s minimum teacher salary sits just below 24-thousand today.