North Dakota proposes annual teacher stipends of about $3,400

North Dakota officials have proposed annual stipends for eligible teachers, with an initial payment estimated at about $3,400. State Superintendent Levi Bachmeier, Rep. Mike Nathe and Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden announced the Support Teachers and Youth Succeed program, or STAYS, on Oct. 5. The proposal is intended to support teacher recruitment and retention, but it has not been approved and does not authorize payments.

Under the proposal, payments would be distributed statewide according to the number of eligible teachers. The stipend would be capped at 25% of average teacher base salary. The $3,400 figure is an initial estimate, not a guaranteed amount; the eventual payment would depend on the final legislation and available funding.

Who the proposed program would cover

The state’s proposed eligibility rules require a teacher to hold the applicable state teaching license and to have taught for the full previous academic year. The teacher would also need a contract for the current academic year or have retired at the end of the previous academic year. Administrators are excluded.

North Dakota United says licensed teachers in both public and private schools could qualify, while support staff such as paraprofessionals and bus drivers would not. The Department of Public Instruction says the proposed stipends would not affect recipients’ contracted pay or retirement calculations. Those provisions remain proposed terms, rather than an established benefit.

Funding estimates and differing descriptions

The state announcement describes the funding as 10% of the Common Schools Trust Fund’s biennial distribution. WDAY and North Dakota United describe it as a share of the fund’s earnings. Those descriptions differ, and the precise calculation is not settled in the proposal’s public explanations.

WDAY reported that Nathe cited projected trust-fund earnings of about $718 million over a two-year period. According to the outlet, he estimated that a 10% share would generate roughly $71 million over two years, or more than $35 million a year. These are estimates attributed to Nathe, not final funding figures.

WDAY also reported an estimate of about 10,000 eligible educators as the basis for the initial payment estimate. That is not a confirmed count of recipients. The proposal says payments would be allocated based on the number of eligible teachers, so both the amount and distribution would depend on who qualifies and on the final funding terms.

Proposal awaits legislative consideration

Strinden said she expects STAYS to be included in the governor’s executive-budget recommendation. The 70th Legislative Assembly, identified by the state as the next assembly, is scheduled to convene in January 2027. The proposal remains subject to lawmakers’ approval.

North Dakota United supports the plan and says the stipends should supplement, not replace, increases in K-12 funding. State proponents describe recruitment and retention as the program’s aims; the proposal itself does not establish that the payments would produce those effects.