A lot of the southern states pay their teachers pretty low.
Some teachers aren’t worth what they make, high or low. But there are still some good ones out there. (My son is one of them, but I’m prejudiced) But even the good ones have often been educated by progs. And that’s the problem; college kids are being indoctrinated, just like they turn around and indoctrinate school kids, unless they really have their heads on straight. Only a few were fortunate enough to have been educated by conservatives.