Updated at 4 p.m.: This story has been revised throughout.

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate Committee on Finance has voted for a bill that would give every classroom teacher a $5,000 raise beginning next year.

Senate Bill 3 was approved unanimously on Monday and will be debated by the full Senate soon. If it succeeds there, it will head to the House for debate in committee. Sponsored by Flower Mound Republican Jane Nelson, the legislation would require school districts to give every full-time classroom teacher $5,000 more than what they're making this year. About 350,000 educators would be eligible for the raise at a cost of $1.8 billion a year beginning in 2020, the Legislative Budget Board estimates.

The bill was amended Monday to extend the raise to charter school teachers, and to cover the state's additional pension costs associated with the raise. School districts would not be able to lower a teacher's salary in future years to supplant the raise and Nelson said state funding for the "classroom teacher salary allotment" would be continuous unless future lawmakers write it out of existence.

"The goal of Senate Bill 3 is to provide a well-deserved, across-the-board, permanent $5,000 pay raise for every classroom teacher in Texas," Nelson said. "I can't promise for every future Legislature. But I'll say this, they're going to have to undo it.

"If times get tough, you've got to make tough choices.

School districts would incur $128 million in associated costs in 2020, according to the budget board. That amount would increase to $134.6 million by 2024.

Teachers testified Monday about how their annual salaries are undercut by rising health care premiums and other costs. Many said they take multiple side jobs to stay financially afloat, or defer doctor's visits and medical treatments.

Virginia Caldwell, a middle school teacher in Hutto, said she struggles on her annual salary of $48,700. With four sons, one of whom has autism, Caldwell said she drives for Uber on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to make ends meet.

"Sometimes I work spring break. I work Christmas break. I work Thanksgiving break. I work summer break. I don't get to spend much time with my family," Caldwell said. "I have a bachelor's degree and master's and I still make not much more than a general manager at McDonald's."

The bill's passage was all but guaranteed before the vote on Monday. All of the committee members signed on to the bill as co-sponsors. Since it already enjoys the support of 23 of the 31 state senators, it's likely to easily pass on to the House.

Merit pay argument

But despite the support for teacher raises in principle, Monday's debate on the bill was not devoid of fireworks.

1 / 9Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound discusses SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, on Monday, at a senate committee hearing on February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 2 / 9Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound listens to public testimony at a senate committee hearing on SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, on Monday, February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 3 / 9Commissioner of Education Mike Morath (left) answers questions from members of the senate committee on SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, at a senate committee hearing on Monday, February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. Senator Juan Hinojosa of McAllen is center, and Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound is at right. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 4 / 9Commissioner of Education Mike Morath (right) answers questions from members of the senate committee on SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, at a senate committee hearing on Monday, February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 5 / 9Senator Royce West of Dallas discusses SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, on Monday, at a senate committee hearing on February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 6 / 9Educators listen as members of the senate committee discuss SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, at a senate committee hearing on Monday, February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 7 / 9Senator Juan Hinojosa of McAllen (center left), Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound and Senator John Whitmire of Houston (center right) listen to public testimony on SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, on Monday, at a senate committee hearing on February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 8 / 9Senator Royce West of Dallas (left) and Senator Kelly Hancock of Flower Mound (right) listen to public testimony at a senate committee hearing on SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, on Monday, February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 9 / 9Members of the senate committee listen to public hearing on SB3, which would give teachers a $5,000 pay raise next year, on Monday, February 25, 2019 at the Texas state capital extension in Austin. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

While neither opposed the legislation, two think tanks on opposite sides of the political spectrum raised questions about whether there was a better way to keep good teachers in the classroom while providing incentives to others to join the field.

"Senate Bill 3 deserves high praise for putting a legislative focus on our teachers," Kara Belew with the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation told the senators. But she added, "money must be spent on the most effective programs."

TPPF, which normally agrees with Patrick and Republican senators on education issues, has fiercely opposed across-the-board teacher pay raises in the past. They continue to back so-called merit pay systems that reward teachers based at least in part on student performance.

The left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities also raised concerns about the bill, urging the committee to give the money directly to school districts, so local leaders can decide how to distribute pay raises, and to peg the pay raise to the rate of inflation so it increases over time.

CPPP education policy analyst Chandra Villanueva said $5,000 " will lose value over time. We feel that a better approach would be to put that money into the basic allotment and to increase base level funding, and then to adjust that for inflation each year so that school districts can afford to provide cost-of-living adjustments on a regular basis."

Several senators balked at Villanueva's suggestions.

"I'm kind of stunned by that comment," Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said. "I'm frankly just shocked where someone's complaining because we're actually trying to start a raise."

Dallas Democrat Royce West, who said he usually agrees with Villanueva, asked if CPPP would support the bill if it was the only thing on the table: "If this is the best that we can do for teachers, should we do that for teachers?"

"We can do better for all schoolchildren," she responded.

Christy Rome from the Texas School Coalition, an organization of property wealthy school districts, also got a dressing down for speaking "on" instead of "for" the legislation.

"I'm disappointed," Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, told Rome. "Do you know how easy it would have been for you to say, 'We're for the bill, but we have some concerns?'"

"Y'all are not smart enough...to be for the bill."

Belew from TPPF was not questioned.

Support staff raises not included

Several teachers also requested the raise be extended to all school support staff like librarians, counselors and other specialists.

"While it's true that classroom teachers are struggling, so are other members of the team who work toward the success of our student," said Tracy Dunlap, a kindergarten teacher in Austin representing Texas AFT, the state arm of a national teacher group.

"From the bus drivers who get children safely to school, to the cafeteria workers who make sure children are fed, to the teaching assistants who work with our most challenging students, to the custodians who keep our schools clean and maintained, we all contribute to the safety, health, academic growth, social and emotional well-being of the children of Texas."

Nelson did not rule out expanding her bill, but expressed skepticism that there'd be enough funding to do that and fulfill costly requests in other policy areas like property tax relief.

"We wanted to make sure that our classroom teachers got this raise, first and foremost," Nelson said. "That is not to say that those others aren't important. ...We don't have a printing press. We only have a certain amount of money."

Senate Bill 3 is not the only teacher pay proposal on the table. Last week, House Democrats proposed their own raise proposal, which would also include support staff. Meanwhile, Republicans in both chambers are expected to release a sweeping school finance bill soon that will include merit pay proposals. Patrick has said there's no "either/or" choice between merit and across-the-board pay raises, but he made clear Monday that passage of the Senate bill is his "No. 1 education priority this session."

"It will provide an immediate financial boost for teachers, assist in retaining good teachers, and recruit the best and the brightest to this critical profession," Patrick said in a statement after the vote Monday. "I will be moving this bill to the floor and out of the Senate at the earliest possible date."