Most public school teachers? Where do you get that? In the states I've lived in, a four year education degree gets you in the door--granted those with post-graduate degrees are paid more, but not significantly more. In my experience, I haven't seen post-grad degrees being a requirement.
And I'm not suggesting anything about what starting teachers make. I can only go by the information presented here.
In my state, you can start teaching after only a undergraduate degree, but within a certain amount of years you must obtain a master's degree in order to remain certified to teach. During those first years, teachers are not making $34/hr.
I agree that tenure rights for teachers should be limited, if not abolished, but I don't think the pay itself is out of line if you want quality educators. If you want teachers with high IQs you have to pay them enough to that it makes sense to choose teaching math to 25 12-years-old over become a pediatrician.