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Teacher Salaries By State

Should teacher salaries in your state increase, decrease of stay the same?

  • They should be higher.

    Votes: 14 46.7%
  • They should be lower.

    Votes: 6 20.0%
  • They should stay the same.

    Votes: 10 33.3%

  • Total voters
    30
I envision a world where performance is evaluated by companies seeking profits, not bureaucrats told what goals to seek.
 
We are in Georgia and my wife is due to make about $32,800 as a provisionally certified teacher in the first year, to be bumped up to $39,000 when she finishes her masters degree. After 10 years, the salary schedule shows a little under $50,000 (would be $43,800 if she only had a bachelors).

The absolute most she could possibly make, according to the 2010-2011 salary schedule, and not be in administration, would be if she had 25 years experience and a Ph.D. @$75,400 + some more for summer school and proctoring tests, but I don't have the info for that.

So that list looks pretty accurate, at least for Georgia.

I would love to find out how she could make 160k though. Being a house husband might have its appeal :).

My first year teaching in GA, I made $43K with a master's degree, Fulton County's supplement (because it is a more expensive area to live in) and coaching supplement... not exactly living the high life...
 
There's no reason that teacher salaries should be so high and requirements so high as well. I could probably teach all of kindergarten to 8th grade, and probably a lot of classes in high school.

Average salary in the 42-48K range is HIGH?!?!? what are you smoking?
 
My first year teaching in GA, I made $43K with a master's degree, Fulton County's supplement (because it is a more expensive area to live in) and coaching supplement... not exactly living the high life...

Given how expensive Fulton can be (either Atlanta or the suburbs) thats not much. The little town I live in gives less of a supplemental (about 2-5k depending) but cost of living here is a lot less.
 
Not only should public school teachers make less. They should should make nothing. Our public schools have done more damage to the United States than all the Islamic Extremists and domestic terrorists combined. Government Schools are the worst, most expensive, least productive institution in the federal government and they should be cut loose, shamed, and condemned for the abject failure which has ruined generations of American minds. As punishment for doing such an awful job and for all the lives they've ruined (since well never be able to sue all the public school teachers), the Government ought to decline all further pensions and benefits.
 
Check out this chart of teacher salaries by state. Teacher Salaries By State | Average Salaries For Teachers | Beginning Salaries For Teachers | Teacher Raises | TeacherPortal.com

Do you think the average teacher salary in your state should be higher, lower, or stay the same?

Like publicly funded positions in general, teachers' salaries should be LOWER, especially considering the hideous impact of teachers' unions.

Don't believe teachers are overpaid? Try this: Pick up a local newspaper and look in the want ads. I DARE YOU to find ONE offer for a teaching position--anywhere, any time.

FACT: Private schools have superior teachers. Check out their test scores if you don't believe it. YET, they are paid LOWER salaries, and they are glad to get them. They are paid according to the law of supply and demand, not government mandates.

The bottom line to fix this disparity is a separation of education and state. FIRST, eliminate federal involvement, totally. Abolish the Department of Education. SECOND, eliminate state involvement and all union involvement--teachers and all other public employees. Let locals have total authority over their schools. THIRD, and finally, privatize. Sell off all public (government-run schools). Eliminate all regulations on education. Let the free market run the schools. And, of course, REPEAL all education taxes.

The Result: Superior education. Lower costs.
 
Not only should public school teachers make less. They should should make nothing. Our public schools have done more damage to the United States than all the Islamic Extremists and domestic terrorists combined. Government Schools are the worst, most expensive, least productive institution in the federal government and they should be cut loose, shamed, and condemned for the abject failure which has ruined generations of American minds. As punishment for doing such an awful job and for all the lives they've ruined (since well never be able to sue all the public school teachers), the Government ought to decline all further pensions and benefits.

No kidding

Especially as public schools have failed to teach the fact that public schools are not a federal government institution but a local one.
 
Given how expensive Fulton can be (either Atlanta or the suburbs) thats not much. The little town I live in gives less of a supplemental (about 2-5k depending) but cost of living here is a lot less.

I was in the north Metro area. FYI - Atlanta is part of Fulton County, but they have their own school district and are not part of the Fulton County School system...
 
Don't believe teachers are overpaid? Try this: Pick up a local newspaper and look in the want ads. I DARE YOU to find ONE offer for a teaching position--anywhere, any time.

I don't really understand this. Schools DO advertise for teaching positions, just not in newspapers.
 
No kidding

Especially as public schools have failed to teach the fact that public schools are not a federal government institution but a local one.

Oh, but they are federal government institutions in many ways. They shouldn't be.
 
In the Chicago suburban area, teaching jobs are hard to come by right now. Most new teachers start out in Chicago Public Schools -- where there's a shortage. The CPS has many schools that are simply failing. Have two family members teaching there. The stories they tell...scarey and sad all at the same time. Police officers patrol the hallways...lockdowns every few weeks...metal detectors...gang violence...one has to wonder why they can't get rid of those kids. I'm imagining it's because of Federal/State funding on a per-pupil basis.

The USDOE spending is budgeted at $36,276,140,000 for 2007 (K-12), a leap of an astonishing 67% since the $21,693,965,000for 2000.
Money just isn't the answer. From 2000 to 2007, Federal spending on education went from $40 billion to $90billion. Illinois Loop: Finances and Spending

Public schools, like every monopoly, are wasteful, full of bureaucratic overload and inefficiencies. Scrap the public school system and encourage private enterprise. Seriously, it's the only hope for our kids in the long run. Public schools are failing their charges, and we're letting them.
 
Here's how we reform public education, bring accountability to the whole system, and do away with the monopoly:

First, you dissolve all of the attendance boundaries. Quit funding local schools by local property taxes (this already happened in California), and fund them at the state level, so much per student, the same for every school in the state.

Next, you get rid of all of the layers of bureaucracy and send the money to the schools. The role of the state should be to accredit schools, meaning make sure that they are teaching basic subjects, and credential teachers, meaning make sure that they have the requisite training. That job shouldn't take more than one or two percent of the budget.

Then the schools, not the state or the district, need to set standards for student performance and behavior. Any student who doesn't measure up would have to find a school with lower standards.

It would be up to parents to find an appropriate school for their kids and to make sure that they measure up to that school's expectations. It would be up to the teachers to make sure that nearly all of their students did measure up, or lose students, revenues, and teaching positions.

Parents who didn't pay attention to their child's learning, and kids who didn't pay attention and do their best would get what they deserve, (what they get anyway), an inferior education. Teachers who didn't cut it would be out of a job. Schools that couldn't get the job done would go the way of any other business that can't attract customers.

It would work.
 
Here's how we reform public education, bring accountability to the whole system, and do away with the monopoly:

First, you dissolve all of the attendance boundaries. Quit funding local schools by local property taxes (this already happened in California), and fund them at the state level, so much per student, the same for every school in the state.

Next, you get rid of all of the layers of bureaucracy and send the money to the schools. The role of the state should be to accredit schools, meaning make sure that they are teaching basic subjects, and credential teachers, meaning make sure that they have the requisite training. That job shouldn't take more than one or two percent of the budget.

Then the schools, not the state or the district, need to set standards for student performance and behavior. Any student who doesn't measure up would have to find a school with lower standards.

It would be up to parents to find an appropriate school for their kids and to make sure that they measure up to that school's expectations. It would be up to the teachers to make sure that nearly all of their students did measure up, or lose students, revenues, and teaching positions.

Parents who didn't pay attention to their child's learning, and kids who didn't pay attention and do their best would get what they deserve, (what they get anyway), an inferior education. Teachers who didn't cut it would be out of a job. Schools that couldn't get the job done would go the way of any other business that can't attract customers.

It would work.

Now there's a plan I can totally agree with. Well said.
 
Not only should public school teachers make less. They should should make nothing. Our public schools have done more damage to the United States than all the Islamic Extremists and domestic terrorists combined. Government Schools are the worst, most expensive, least productive institution in the federal government and they should be cut loose, shamed, and condemned for the abject failure which has ruined generations of American minds. As punishment for doing such an awful job and for all the lives they've ruined (since well never be able to sue all the public school teachers), the Government ought to decline all further pensions and benefits.

I find your post very insulting to teachers and parents that send their children to Public Schools and feel that your comment about Islamic Extremists and domestic terrorists combined to be disgusting!
 
Not only should public school teachers make less. They should should make nothing. Our public schools have done more damage to the United States than all the Islamic Extremists and domestic terrorists combined. Government Schools are the worst, most expensive, least productive institution in the federal government and they should be cut loose, shamed, and condemned for the abject failure which has ruined generations of American minds. As punishment for doing such an awful job and for all the lives they've ruined (since well never be able to sue all the public school teachers), the Government ought to decline all further pensions and benefits.

:lol: :monkeyarm :lol:

ruined generations of minds :lol:




:vomit:
 
Like publicly funded positions in general, teachers' salaries should be LOWER, especially considering the hideous impact of teachers' unions.

Teachers unions are a mess... agreed.

Don't believe teachers are overpaid? Try this: Pick up a local newspaper and look in the want ads. I DARE YOU to find ONE offer for a teaching position--anywhere, any time.

Teacher jobs don't advertize in the paper, at least in California. They have special websites:
California's premiere online job search site | EDJOIN.org

FACT: Private schools have superior teachers. Check out their test scores if you don't believe it. YET, they are paid LOWER salaries, and they are glad to get them. They are paid according to the law of supply and demand, not government mandates.

What is the saying? There are lies, damn lies and statisitcs. There are many many MANY reasons why private schools have better tests scores, like more educated and more affluent families that care about education, for one. Public schools get dumped with more unmotivated and unintelligent students that are MANDATED to be at school by law... big difference to one that is open and honest about the subject. Seriously, how many private schools are being forced to teach illigal Mexican immigrants that don't speak any English?

Teachers at private schools are generally less educated and less qualified (teacher credentialling programs/schooling) than public school teachers as well. Further, private schools tend to do a lot of fudging of grades... sometimes simply due to who the parents are and the money that they donate to the schools.

The bottom line to fix this disparity is a separation of education and state. FIRST, eliminate federal involvement, totally. Abolish the Department of Education. SECOND, eliminate state involvement and all union involvement--teachers and all other public employees. Let locals have total authority over their schools. THIRD, and finally, privatize. Sell off all public (government-run schools). Eliminate all regulations on education. Let the free market run the schools. And, of course, REPEAL all education taxes.

The Result: Superior education. Lower costs

Perhaps, but the issue is more complicated than that...
 
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Much earlier in this thread, I got into a discussion with another poster about teacher salaries in Illinois after asserting that someone I knew was making $160+ as a Science Teacher in a Chicago suburb. That argument included challenging the link from which I got my information to post on line. I knew this personally, but, of course, wanted to substantiate with a link -- which I did. But the link was challenged. You will see in this article that the Chicago Tribune interviewed the person who is responsible for that link.

Well, I cannot believe I missed this story in the Chicago Tribune: Illinois teacher salaries: Some educators in suburban Chicago earning more than $100,000 - chicagotribune.com -- I found it this evening after reading Letters to Editor expressing outrage at the salaries many teachers are making. Some excerpts from the article:

An extraordinary number of public school teachers in the Chicago region earned $100,000 or more in 2009, straining school budgets and taxpayer wallets and fueling the debate over what teachers are worth and how they get raises. In the affluent enclaves of Highland Park and Deerfield, almost half the teachers in Township High School District 113 took home six-figure salaries — the highest percentage in the state. In Park Ridge and Hinsdale, about 43% earned $100,000 or more, according to a Chicago Tribune salary analysis. Six-figure teacher salaries of that magnitude are rare elsewhere in Illinois and in most parts of the country.

The highest-paying districts note that they are top performers that get accolades and national rankings, and they need to be competitive to attract top teachers as parents expect. But the six-figure salaries highlight disparities that have persisted between rich and less wealthy communities in Illinois. What's more, it's clear that some districts have over-extended themselves, and are asking teachers unions to come back to the table to help contain spending in a bad economy, with mixed success.

In the Chicago region, $100,000 salaries are most common in fields ranging from algebra, biology and U.S. history to art, instrumental music and physical education.

The Tribune examined salary information for nearly 132,000 full-time Illinois teachers who worked a traditional nine- or 10-month school year in 2008-09. Salaries provided by the Illinois State Board of Education encompass all earnings, including extra stipends for coaching and sponsoring school clubs as well as retirement perks.
Among the findings:

—About 4 percent of teachers statewide earned $100,000 or more — 5,457 teachers — but the vast majority worked in the Chicago suburbs, with heavy concentrations in north Cook, DuPage and Lake counties. In all, 32 Chicago-area districts paid at least 20 percent of their teachers six figures — five times the state average.

—Districts used taxpayer dollars to pay $100,000 salaries even as they struggled with red ink. A third of districts with unusually high concentrations of teachers making six figures — at least 10 percent of teachers — posted operating deficits in 2008-09, according to state financial data.

—Six-figure teachers were unevenly distributed, with high school teachers making up 60 percent of the group — more than double their representation in the teaching force. Affluent suburban districts had the largest concentrations of six-figure teachers. Less than 1 percent of Chicago Public School teachers earned $100,000 or more in 2009.

Educators and teacher union officials defend the six-figure earnings, saying they represent a shift in thinking about the teaching profession.

Teachers used to be considered a "cheap commodity," said Thomas Ludovice, a biology and chemistry teacher at Hinsdale Central High School and a local teachers union vice president. Decades ago, he recalls teachers being paid close to the poverty line and scrambling to work summer jobs to make ends meet.

After more than 20 years in the profession, Ludovice earns six figures — but that came after spending endless hours in classes and on sports fields, he said.

Jack Roeser, whose Family Taxpayers Foundation posts Illinois teacher and administrator salaries on a Web site, said teachers "just plain don't work many days" and are already overpaid.

Teacher salaries are based on a pay scale that gives pay hikes for acquiring more years of experience, college credits and degrees. It's not unusual for teachers to get double-digit raises in one year when they can combine hikes for both education and experience. It's also common to boost pay by coaching sports teams.

A now-retired physical education teacher and longtime football coach at Addison Trail High School in DuPage County earned more than $184,000 in 2008-09 — the highest teacher salary in the Tribune's analysis. He had 35 years of teaching experience and a master's degree, all factors that boosted his salary. See this man's name and details re his pension posted below from another website.

Elsewhere, teachers in Lyons Township High School District 204 recently agreed to a partial pay freeze for 2010-11, though the pay schedule still allows for double-digit pay hikes in some circumstances. About 38 percent of the district's teachers earned salaries of $100,000 or more in 2008-09.

In Lake County's Community High School District 128, based in Vernon Hills, about 41 percent of teachers earned six figures in 2009,making the district competitive with other affluent and high-performing districts in the area, said Superintendent Prentiss Lea. My friend I spoke of in my post works in this school district.

Highest paid teacher referenced in article above is:

Name Deleted -- You'll find it here: Illinois Pension Database :: Latest News :: PIONEER PRESS ::
School District--DuPage HSD 88
Salary at Retirement--$186,464.86
Retirement Date--7/1/2003
Age at Retirement--56
Early Retirement Incentive? No
Annual Pension--$138,871.68

I wish I'd had this information when we were discussing this earlier, but wanted to post it here now just FYI to the thread.
 
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