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At the top of the list: higher pay. Other ideas mentioned by several current and former teachers included deemphasizing standardized tests and hiring more support staff.

鈥淎llow teachers to do one job and not the six or seven other jobs they鈥檙e doing right now,鈥� said Rebeka McIntosh, vice president of the Missouri National Education Association.

The hearing Wednesday was hosted by the state鈥檚 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission. The 22-member commission was appointed in the spring by the Missouri Board of Education and is primarily made up of business leaders. They are expected to produce a report in October with recommendations for increasing the K-12 workforce.

Missouri ranks last in average starting teacher salary at $32,970, although legislators this spring approved raising the minimum to $38,000 for the next year.

That temporary fix could be contentious in small school districts where new teachers will now make more than veteran teachers, several speakers said.

鈥淲e need a dedicated and specific funding source for teacher salaries,鈥� said Doug Hayter, executive director of the Missouri Association of School Administrators.

One retired teacher, Kathy Steinhoff of Columbia, said a hints at some strategies that might not be popular among educators.

The state should not consider consolidating schools or districts, Steinhoff said, because of the diversity of local communities. Merit pay for teachers is also a non-starter because it 鈥渨ould introduce an unfair playing field that increases competition not cooperation,鈥� Steinhoff said.

Cambria Crabtree, a teacher from Nixa, gave the commission a suggestion for improving the workforce shortage.

鈥淚 think one of the biggest things that could be done would be for legislators, commission members to come visit classrooms,鈥� Crabtree said. 鈥淪tay in a classroom the whole day. Getting people who are stakeholders to be substitutes would be a great way to do that.鈥�