[EQAndyBuzz]

35,000-40,000 a year to start.

Hmm.. What about the 20,000 a year in benefits?

Get rid of mandatory union dues and pay part of health insurance and retirement and that number could go up by 5-10,000 a year.

[MPJackal]

And let's not forget they only work part of the year. Summers off, spring break, Christmas break....... My father was a teacher in CA when I was a kid and he work other jobs in the summer, shoe sales man, picking peaches, he even ran a firework stand a few summers. We had the best 4th of July display in the neighborhood.

Both my parents were teachers and my wife was a teacher. I have the utmost respect for teachers that really want to teach. But as my dad, who later got his Doctorate and taught elementary education, would say “There are two types of people that want to become teachers, those that love to teach children and those that want summers off. I would add a third category....those that want to coach, but you get the drift.