Short answer
How do Spokane teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Spokane uses eight columns: BA, BA+15, BA+30, BA+45, BA+90, MA, MA+45 and MA+90. Academic credits count in quarter hours and 10 approved clock hours equal one credit. Work must be earned by October 1 and filed with Human Resources by the last working day in September; the raise is retroactive to September 1.
Source: Spokane SD 81 and Spokane Education Association agreement, Article VI, Section 4 (union-hosted copy). Checked .
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How is the Spokane teacher salary schedule organized?
The district's 2026-27 Certificated Teacher's Salary Schedule (TE) is dated September 1, 2026. Down the side are years of experience, 0 through 16; across the top are the eight education columns. For each year the sheet stacks four lines:
- Base, the annual base salary for the cell;
- 70 Hrs Enrichment, pay for 70 hours of time, responsibility and incentive (TRI);
- Masters Stipend, printed only in the MA, MA+45 and MA+90 columns;
- Attract/Retain Incentive, which rises at years 14, 15 and 16.
A "Comp Total" line adds them. Doctorates are paid through a separate Doctorate Stipend line rather than a ninth column.
Where a column ends matters as much as where it starts. BA tops out at year 8, BA+15 at year 9, BA+30 at year 10 and BA+45 at year 12. BA+90, MA, MA+45 and MA+90 all continue to year 16. A veteran teacher parked at BA+45 therefore gains nothing from experience after year 12 unless they move right. Our explainer on reading a salary schedule covers the general pattern.
The agreement runs September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2028. Article VI, Section 2 raised the schedule 2.5% for 2025-26 and ties 2026-27 and 2027-28 to the state's inflationary adjustment (IPD).
Which units count toward a Spokane column change?
Article VI, Section 4.C counts your highest degree plus every academic and in-service credit not used for that degree, all earned after your first bachelor's. When a degree program required more than 45 credits, the surplus becomes usable credit. The agreement's own example is a 60-credit master's, which leaves 15 credits that count post-MA.
Academic credits come from an accredited institution as defined in WAC 250-61-050, must be 100-level or higher, and must be transferable or applicable to a bachelor's or higher degree. Spokane counts quarter hours; semester hours are converted to quarter hours before they are added. Our article on quarter versus semester units shows how much a semester course is worth after conversion.
Clock hours must be earned after August 31, 1987, after the first bachelor's and by October 1, through a program approved by the Professional Educator Standards Board under WAC 181-85-200. Every 10 clock hours earn one education credit. The agreement adds a useful rule: in-service credits eligible for certificate renewal or reissuance under WAC Title 181 are eligible for salary placement.
Content must also satisfy the state criteria for work earned after September 1, 1995. A credit rejected one year is not necessarily rejected forever. Section 4.C lets it be recognized later if the qualifying criteria change: a new assignment, a new school-based plan, a district strategic plan revision, a PESB rule change or a new employer.
Career and technical education teachers have two extra routes. Approved business or industry internships count 40 hours per in-service credit, capped at two per calendar year and 15 per career, and CTE clock hours earned to maintain the CTE certificate convert at 10 to 1.
Credits are computed to two decimal places, with a five or higher rounding up.
Does Spokane require approval before you take a course?
Spokane's agreement does not require sign-off before you enroll. Human Resources reviews documentation after the fact against the Section 4.C rules. Because the test is applied only once the course is finished, a teacher unsure about a provider or a lower-division class should ask HR first. Our guide on pre-approval forms explains what to ask for in writing when a district has no formal form.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
Section 4.A sets two dates that work together. Teachers have until the last working day in September to report experience and education to Human Resources, and the district grants increments and educational advancement for credit on file as of October 1. Credits submitted by that late-September date are used, and the annual salary is paid retroactively to September 1.
Coursework itself must be complete by October 1 under Section 4.C, but the reporting date comes first, so in practice anything you want counted this year needs to be finished and documented in September. New hires starting after the first day of school have until October 15 or 60 days after their first day of work, whichever is later.
Errors have a deadline too. Under Article VI, Section 1.D a wrong placement is corrected only for the present year; a mistake from a prior year is fixed only if you raise it with Human Resources before October 1. Our page on transcript deadlines covers why ordering early matters.
Worked example: a BA+30 teacher at year 10 has reached the top of that column. Fifteen more quarter credits, for instance a 4.5-quarter-credit summer course plus 105 approved clock hours, reach BA+45 and reopen two more years of step growth.
Do the same units count toward Washington license renewal?
The overlap is written into Spokane's agreement: in-service credit that qualifies for certificate renewal under WAC Title 181 qualifies for salary placement too. The state still counts renewal in clock hours, 100 per five-year certificate with 15 on equity-based school practices. Our Washington state guide lays out the renewal requirements.
Where can Spokane teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Spokane included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Spokane's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
Before you enroll: Pacific describes these professional development units as "not applicable for a degree at Pacific" but transferable "at the discretion of your institution." Whether that meets the transferable-or-degree-applicable test is Spokane's decision, so ask human resources in writing before you enroll.
| Question | What Spokane says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Spokane: Quarter credits, 100-level or higher; 10 PESB clock hours = 1 credit | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | Spokane: Last working day in September; work earned by October 1 | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Spokane: Not required; HR reviews after completion | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
With those rules in hand, compare providers on the same points. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- CE Credits Online: self-paced, 180 days, units through Valley City State, Augustana, Adams State or Cal Poly Humboldt; from $449 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Connected Classroom Courses: self-paced, letter grade, units through CSU Pueblo; $389 + university fee for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Teachers: self-paced, 6 months, units through Valley City State, Adams State, UMass Global or CSU Pueblo; from $349 for 3 credits (price notes)
- VESi: self-paced online, 2- or 3-unit courses on special-needs instruction, units through University of the Pacific; $444 for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Spokane has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Spokane salary questions teachers ask
When do I have to turn in credits to Spokane Public Schools HR?
By the last working day in September. Coursework must be complete by October 1, and the new placement is paid retroactively to September 1.
How many clock hours equal one credit in Spokane?
Ten. Clock hours must come from a PESB-approved program, be earned after August 31, 1987 and after your first bachelor's, and be complete by October 1.
Does Spokane pay extra for a master's degree?
Yes, in two ways. The MA, MA+45 and MA+90 columns carry higher base pay, and the 2026-27 schedule adds a Masters Stipend line in those columns.
What if Spokane placed me in the wrong column last year?
A prior-year placement error is adjusted only if you bring it to Human Resources before October 1 of the present year. Otherwise only the current year is corrected.
Where can Spokane teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
Spokane decides which courses count, under the rules on this page, so check with human resources before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, CE Credits Online, Connected Classroom Courses, Credits for Teachers and VESi. They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- Agreement between Spokane School District No. 81 and Spokane Education Association, Certificated, 2025-2028, union-hosted copy, Spokane Education Association. Checked
- Certificated Teacher's Salary Schedule - TE, 2026-27, Spokane Public Schools. Checked
- Salary schedules, Spokane Public Schools. Checked
- Clock hours, Washington Professional Educator Standards Board. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error