A article from our local rag related to my earlier post:
Teachers' pay measures up to other professions
By Brent Killackey
By Brent Killackey Racine Journal Times
RACINE - Are teachers, as a profession, underpaid? Not according to Richard Vedder, a professor of economics at Ohio University.
In the education journal "Education Next," Vedder writes that teachers are not underpaid relative to other professionals.
Relying on data from the National Compensation Survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which computes hourly earnings for workers, teachers earn more per hour than architects, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, registered nurses, editors and reporters.
Elementary school teachers earned $28.79 an hour, secondary school teachers earned $29.79 an hour and special education teachers earned $29.97 an hour, according to 2000 Bureau of Labor Statistics information cited by Vedder.
In comparison, architects earned $23.22 an hour; editors and reporters, $24.81 an hour; civil engineers, $27.35 an hour.
On the local scene, a teacher in the Racine Unified School District in 2003 made an average of roughly $33 an hour, based on the average salary and average hour requirements in the contract.
Comparing teachers to other professions in term of salary isn't fair, according to Greg Reischl, a world history teacher at Park High School.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers assume an average workweek of just under 40 hours for elementary and secondary teachers.
"Teachers are putting in a lot of hours outside of class," Reischl said, noting there's papers to grade and future lessons to prepare. Some teachers come early, stay late and put in weekend hours. "Our work doesn't stop at 3 o'clock."
"I look around at the teachers in our department and we're taking home hours of work," said Tamerin Hayward, chair of Case High School's social studies department.
Hayward said the perception that teachers work 9 to 5 - 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in this case - just doesn't follow the reality of the job.
William Schalk, president of the Racine Unified Board of Education, agreed.
"Teachers work 7 or 8 hours a day, but then they have lesson plans they work on at night that other professions aren't required to do," Schalk said.
As Board of Education president, Schalk sits on the opposite side of the bargaining table as teachers, but he was sympathetic.
"I do feel that we need to do better in paying our teachers in Racine Unified, but the revenue limits and the QEO (qualified economic offer) has hindered us in making that possible, to the degree I feel necessary to adequately pay the teachers," Schalk said.
Under the state-mandated QEO, a teachers' union can't take salary and benefit disputes to arbitration if a district offers a combined salary and benefit package that increases 3.8 percent. School districts in Wisconsin also operate under revenue caps, limiting the amount of property taxes that can be levied.
Teachers aren't unique among public-sector employees, who typically find lower pay but greater job security.
"Public-sector employees are underpaid when you compare them to their counterparts in the private sectors," said Frank Johnson, Unified's director of employee relations. "The reality of the situation is they are public employees, and as public employees funds are limited."
From one perspective, Wisconsin values its educators by a willingness to bear a greater relative tax burden to pay above-average pay and benefits to teachers.
Teacher compensation, which includes salary and benefits, runs above the national average, according to National Center on Education Statistics numbers cited by Dale Knapp, research director at the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
Average wages in Wisconsin run 10 to 12 percent below the national average, he said. These wages are used to pay state and local taxes.
"Because total (teacher) compensation is above average and being paid for by wages that are below average, the tax burden from that higher compensation here is a lot higher than in other states," Knapp said. "Not that they're overpaid or underpaid; it takes a bigger chunk of the paycheck to pay for the teacher compensation here than other states."
Marna Krueger, arts specialist at Brown Elementary School and a teacher in Unified for 25 years, said she felt she was paid adequately when compared to other teachers.
"Compared to other professionals who have the education I have, and the requirement of continuing education hours, then it becomes an iffy subject," she said.
At the same time, Krueger said she didn't become a teacher for money.
"Salary isn't my big concern," she said. "I don't do the job for the salary. I do the job because it's what I was called to do."
Ann Henkes, arts specialist at Gifford Elementary School, doesn't feel the current contract environment - tied to the QEO and revenue caps - fairly recognizes the contributions of teachers in society.
"I certainly don't feel overpaid," Henkes said. "When I picked education as a career, I knew I wasn't going to get rich."
Henkes, who holds a master's degree in education plus 12 additional credits, has been teaching in the district since 1977.
"I love my job and I am dedicated to students, but I'm not an indentured servant," Henkes said, expressing dissatisfaction with current Unified contract offers. She said the QEO and revenue caps have contributed to being treated in an insulting way in contract negotiations.
Over the years, Henkes said, she gave up raises.
"We weren't even keeping up with the cost of living," she said.
"I'm not going to apologize for what I'm making as a salary now. I don't feel I'm getting rich."
Hayward, who has taught in Unified for 24 years, said she worried about pay for new teachers.
"Starting pay is really bad," she said. In Racine, starting pay is $28,318, according to district officials.
It's hard to draw people into the field when they can find other opportunities that offer far greater starting salaries, particularly with the level of education and requirement of continuing education needed to teach, Hayward said.
"I don't see how we're going to draw people into the field, given the salaries that we've got," said Reischl, who has taught in the district for 27 years and holds a master's degree plus 24 credits.
Reischl said the QEO has saved taxpayers money, "but the chicken is going to come home to roost real soon because you're not going to get quality coming in.
"I never expected to be a millionaire, but I do think we haven't been paid our due. The bottom line is where is society putting its priorities? "If society wants a good school system, society needs to foot the bill for that."