HuffPo Plays Politics With Teacher Salaries
The Huffington Post ran a story entitled Texas Teachers Taking Second And Third Jobs To Support Their Families. The story references a study by Sam Houston State University that found that 40% of teachers take on another job to supplement their income. I sympathize with teachers. I have made it abundantly clear in my writings that I come from a family of teachers. My father was a high school economics teacher turned university professor, my mother taught pre-school. The rest of my family contains three elementary teachers and a school employed speech therapist. In the United States we recognize the important role that teachers play by educating our children.
That being said I want to look at this issue from an economic perspective. According to an annual survey by the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators teacher salaries were up 3.2 percent over last year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the inflation rate was 2.7 percent based on an average consumer price index summary. When you look at all professions in Texas, the average salary increase in 2009 was 2.1 percent according to WorldatWork, a human resources association that tracks salaries and benefits. Teacher salaries are growing at a faster clip than inflation and beating the average salary growth of professions in Texas. This doesn't mean they get paid a lot but their dollar is going further this year than it did last year and that is a positive trend.
As for actual pay, the survey by the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators reported that average teacher pay was $48,650 for the 2009-10 school year, up from $47,158 for the 2008-09 school year. Starting teacher pay was at $35,793, a 4.5 percent increase over the previous year. These numbers might not blow you away but comparing yearly teacher salary to that of an average white collar, professional specialty, or technical worker is an apples to oranges comparison. When you factor in summers off and holidays teachers work significantly fewer hours. The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics did an in depth study in 2005 that found teachers made $34.06 per hour on average. That is 36% more than that of an average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker.
When you get down to the numbers the story is a bunch of Huffing-ton Puffery. There is no mention whether teachers are taking these extra jobs during the summer months as many teachers do, as much to stave off boredom, as to supplement their income. Historically, teaching isn't a profession you go into to support a family. It is no secret that teaching isn't a high paying profession as far as yearly salaries go. When you go into education in college it is very clear what you can expect to get paid. The idea that teachers are getting a raw deal is off base at best, but the Huffington Post will pull your heart strings every chance they get. They wrap the article with this gem.
"My teacher salary just doesn't cut it, people might ask, 'Why don't you just get another job that pays more?' But I love teaching, and I love the kids and wouldn't want to do anything else."
As much as I sympathize with teachers this is a decision they make. Teachers aren't in it for the money and the money just isn't there to pay teachers more. You increase pay for tens of thousands of teachers and you will find that teachers will be laid off and class sizes will increase. We may like the idea of paying teachers more but you can't write checks with good intentions.
Tyson Bam
July 22nd, 2010
