As a quick follow-up to the prior post, the Detroit News ran an article today about the relatively high pay of teachers in Michigan, something that is sure to be impacted by budget cuts....
More than 300 teachers in the region make more than $100,000 — double the median household income — and the average top wage for a teacher with a master's degree and roughly a decade of experience is nearly $82,000, according to a survey of districts in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties. The information was gleaned from employee compensation reports that school districts must post online.
Although starting teachers right out of college make roughly $40,000 in many area districts, they can earn well above $70,000 by age 30 if they get a master's degree. And that's for nine months' work and most holidays off.
In the Troy schools, a 25-year teacher with a master's degree and 30 extra hours of education can make $99,528.
Are public school teachers underpaid?
4 comments:
While I don't think public school teachers are underpaid, I again have to mention the other side of it. I have a retired teacher volunteering at the pantry who commented once on those publically posted school salaries. They include far more than just the paycheck. Those figures include medical insurance, retirement, and a host of other things. (She mentioned some, but I don't remember what they are.) We tend to look at the published numbers and assume that's how much the teacher is making in the paycheck, but it isn't. I think about how much higher John's salary would appear if that kind of stuff was included and understand why she gets a little aggravated with it. It's not right for me to compare John's take-home pay, or even hourly wage, with someone else's wage plus benefits. (It boggles my mind that if we actually received the health insurance money - both what we pay and the company's portion - his paycheck would go up by over 50%!) I wonder if the "median household income" includes benefits - not likely.
[I wonder, too, what the average auto factory worker's salary used to be if insurance, retirement, etc. were included. But that's a whole 'nuther topic....]
Again, not saying that teachers are underpaid, but there is more involved than we usually hear/see.
Where I live the minimum pay for teachers is 27,000 a year, and many schools pay right at that. I'd say they're under paid because those schools also break the laws concerning the amount of students in class, yet the teachers are still held to the same standard of rigor.
Considering that teaching well at a much smaller private school requires two or three extra hours every day with about 1/6 the students, the good teachers at the local schools are working 4 or 5 extra hours a day, so that's 60+ hour weeks, plus lesson planning on weekends. So, around ten dollars an hour all things considered. It's more than fast food, but not enough to be the sole income of a family. (rent is also expensive in the area...two bedroom apts are nearly 1000 a month after utilities)
Something else interesting had to do with insurance:
Roughly half of the state's teachers pay nothing in premiums for health insurance that is typically better than the private sector's.
I pay a LOT for my insurance and half of the teachers don't pay anything.
I am a public school Administrator with 19 teachers working for me. If you eliminated the teachers union, the problem would be solved. You would only give raises and bonuses to the teachers who were great and you would fire those with Master's Degrees plus, making a bunch of money and not doing anything. The 60 hours a week argument is lame. They get 2 months off in summer and major holidays throughout the school year. The state of education isn't their fault. But the union is a travesty to our country.
-Joe
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