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Study shows teacher pay competitive in much of Washington

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 8:05 AM PST

By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP
Associated Press Writer

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 OLYMPIA — Teachers are among the best-paid college-educated workers in many parts of Washington, but educators in the Kennewick, Bremerton and Seattle labor markets are not keeping up with people in other occupations, a new analysis of Washington wages shows.

The analysis was presented Monday to a task force formed by the Legislature to figure out how to improve the way the state pays for education. Teacher salaries are the biggest total expense for K-12 schools.

One idea floating around the Legislature would set teacher salaries according to the geographic location where educators work. The state currently has a statewide salary schedule, but the Legislature lets school districts raise extra money for teacher’s non-classroom time through local levies.

The report was presented by Lori L. Taylor, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University who has done similar research for the National Center for Education Statistics. It found that some Washington districts that pay teachers the most are still not competitive with other professions< salaries.

For example, the districts in and around Seattle pay the highest teacher salaries, but other people with college degrees also get paid more in Seattle, Bellevue and Everett. School districts feel they have to offer better teacher salaries to keep qualified teachers from leaving the profession to take better paying jobs at employers such as Microsoft or Boeing.

The same holds true in Bremerton and the Kennewick metropolitan area, which includes Richland. That<s because professional jobs for the federal government near Hanford and Bremerton pay better than an average teacher<s salary, and because Bremerton is also just a ferry ride away from the best-paying school districts in the Seattle metropolitan area.

The difference in wages for college graduates from the most expensive labor market — Seattle — to the least expensive labor markets in rural Eastern Washington is nearly 28 percent.

Across the state, the average teacher’s salary was about $54,000 in 2007. The average salary for other college graduates was $67,257.

But teachers only work an average of 10 months a year, so the report translates the average salary for other workers to a 10-month equivalent so they can compare apples to apples. If other college educated workers only worked the same 10-month schedule, their salaries would average $56,048, which is closer to the teacher average of $54,000.

Taylor found an even greater difference between math and science teacher salaries and pay for people who work in math or science fields — $54,568 vs. $76,199. This disparity is seen across the state, but is especially acute in Western Washington and the Kennewick/Richland area.

Salaries for classified staff — teacher’s aides, school nurses, librarians, etc. — do not follow a geographic pattern, but do fall behind comparable salaries for high school graduates, the report said.

Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, said Taylor’s report was just what lawmakers needed to move toward geographic pay for teachers.

“It’s going to be a difficult discussion,” Hunter said, but he expressed confidence that the Legislature would be able to make the transition in the end.

The state teacher’s union supports the idea of regional salaries based on costs of living, Mary Lindquist, president of the Washington Education Association, said last week.

 

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#1mrt6j wrote on Nov 11, 2008 9:11 AM:

" Don't forget that although teachers only work an average of 10 months per year, they accrue ZERO paid vacation during their entire career. College graduates in other fields can expect to accrue the equivalant of one month PAID vacation by the time they have worked in their field for 10 to 15 years. Teachers are NEVER paid for the summer months the do not work. Based on this one obvious error I find doubt with all the other findings of this article. "

critter wrote on Nov 11, 2008 9:15 AM:

" Teachers only work about 180 days a year!!!! Why should they make the same as a college grad that works year-around? Summers off, spring break off, christmas break off, all the other holidays, their own vacation time, good med benefits, and people in Oly are questioning 56k a year? If anything they need a paycut so we wont get guilted into voted for levies all the time. Ridiculous. "

Viewpoint wrote on Nov 11, 2008 10:05 AM:

" So if the average college-educated worker in Cowlitz County makes crap compared to the rest of the state, especially if the only job they can get is in retail, does that mean we should offer our teachers less money than those in Seattle, even though they have the same education and pass the same certifications? I don't think so. How many quality teachers do you think we could attract? Districts up north and in tax rich districts are already compensating their teachers more through TRI dollars, etc. Public education dollars are an important source of economic stability in our area. If a state teacher salary reform based on geography were passed this area would be a big loser. Contact your state legislators now. "

duckhunter wrote on Nov 11, 2008 10:08 AM:

" I'll take it that critter is not a teacher and really doesn't know one either. You have no idea at how much time and effort teachers go through. It is not a 9-5 job and then work leaves your mind. Nor are holidays and the summer completely work free. We are then held to very high standards by every administrator, parent and state officials. Gimme a break, don't trash what you don't know! "

Doug McCratch wrote on Nov 11, 2008 10:12 AM:

" Wow, teachers in this state make a LOT more than I thought they did. I don't understand why their union complains they're underpaid. And as far as not the article saying teachers don't get paid vacations... huh??? If I made $55,000 a year and got two weeks off for Christmas, plus a spring break, plus a two-month summer vacation... I sure wouldn't try to gain sympathy over "no paid time off." WHATEVER. "

mhmltn wrote on Nov 11, 2008 10:19 AM:

" Some teachers do get paid during the summer.All they have to do is work summer school or have something to do with summer sports. I believe it is all overtime pay too.I don't see any reason for them to get a paid vacation with all their time off.No one else in any jobs,get all the time off they do with pay. "

local teacher wrote on Nov 11, 2008 10:31 AM:

" Critter, I was overjoyed when I read this article to see that I will soon be able to make 56k per year as a teacher, I then went to the pay scale website to see when that will happen. As a teacher, I will make 56k after I have taught for 13 years AND have earned my PHD. Wow, my bubble has been burst. Only 10 more years to go and a lot more schooling. Good thing I have all of those summers off. "

dogshead wrote on Nov 11, 2008 10:48 AM:

" I think a dedicated, caring teacher (like most my daughter had going though the Longview School District) is worth twice that! One of THE most important jobs in our society (and no, I'm not an educator). "

UW Squirrels wrote on Nov 11, 2008 11:01 AM:

" critter, teacher work a lot more than 180 days a year. Just because you kid isn't in school doesn't mean they aren't working. They have to prepare class materials, grade papers, hold conferences, and do training. I'm not certain, but I'd say they probably work closer to 220-230 days a year. Compare that to the 182 days for the average union Fibre worker, or to the 250 a Mon-Fri job would give you, and the teachers are working a pretty average number of days. The last thing our educational system needs is a paycut for the people that matter most. Ridiculous. "

TDN Bad Boy wrote on Nov 11, 2008 11:07 AM:

" One hole in this study is with the money some teachers make during the summer working other jobs. So the trade off from not having paid vacation is that that is time many teachers use to raise extra money. A person in a 12-month job getting the vacation benefits cannot necessarily do that. So while according to this report teachers make less than other college graduates, that is not necessarily true. Many, many teachers work outside jobs by choice because they really don't want to waste the time off they have. So let's get real. Personally, I would like to see teacher's pay tied in some form to the WASL scores for a district. If a district like Longview is not among the average districts in the state, why should the teachers be among the average for pay. They should be lower. It's called pay for performance. It's a quality standard that people in the real world face everyday. Eliminating that motivation from teachers could explain a lot of the problem with the quality of education in the schools today. Of course, in the Liberal union-dominated state we work in today, Da Tax Queen isn't about to go that route. Afterall all those partnerships she bragged about after the election need to be paid off for their support such as the teacher's union. "

Doug McCratch wrote on Nov 11, 2008 11:24 AM:

" To local teacher: I would be thrilled if I knew I could make $56,000 after 13 years in my profession. I have a master's degree and a job in my field, which is rewarding and provides a valuable service... but after 13 years at it, I'd count myself lucky to be earning $40,000. "

Viewpoint wrote on Nov 11, 2008 11:29 AM:

" Most of the bloggers on this article so far seem to have missed the point while they've been hashing over what teachers do in the summer and whether theyre worth their pay. To put it bluntly, the Seattle/Puget Sound labor market is about to stick it to our labor market. Because Microsoft pays high wages, teachers in Bellevue, Seattle, et al should get high wages and teachers in the rest of the state can suck it up. Instead of moaning about why we deserve to be whipped, we need to stand up and say %#*& NO! "

Cheney119 wrote on Nov 11, 2008 11:58 AM:

" Hey Bad Boy how about the 10's of thousands they have to spend getting their masters degree during the summer? As usual you don't know what you're talking about. "

Sea-Gal wrote on Nov 11, 2008 9:26 PM:

" re: Viewpoint (and others), if the teachers in Longview were paid as much as teachers in the Puget Sound area, all the teachers would be clamoring to work in...Longview. Yes, it is that much cheaper to live in Cowlitz County. "

Viewpoint wrote on Nov 12, 2008 11:28 AM:

" Sea Gal- If the wages are already so good for teachers in Puget Sound that they prefer to work there than here, then they don't need the unfair additional boost a regional salary schedule would provide, WHICH IS THE POINT OF THIS ARTICLE. I have no reason to believe the average teacher in Mercer Island works any harder for their wage and deserves more money for their efforts than teachers in Cowlitz County. I'm astounded the WEA would support a plan of geographical discrimination when their members do equal work. There are advantages and disadvantages to living in all areas of our state. A couple of disadvantages to living in Cowlitz County compared to Puget Sound is that we don't have as ready access to some medical services and our property tax rates are higher. BTW, I am not an employee of any school district. "

91UW wrote on Nov 12, 2008 2:01 PM:

" Economics 101- if the money isnt there you cant afford to pay more. We cant compare our area to areas with a richer, deeper tax base. Also, why should all teachers get a raise? I agree some may be underpaid, but, there are also some that should be FIRED. Until we come up with some sort of accountablity for teachers and administrators it is hard to justify any raises. "

country gal wrote on Nov 12, 2008 3:20 PM:

" Schools and colleges are like politicians. Time to prioritize and balance the budget. Take a paycut, especially the deans and principals. "

Sea-Gal wrote on Nov 12, 2008 9:27 PM:

" Viewpoint, I'll put it bluntly - teachers can't afford to live in the greater Seattle area with the same wages paid to teachers in lower cost-of-living areas of the state. It's not unheard of in other professions to earn a higher salary in urban areas for the same work as one who lives in a smaller community such as Longview/Kelso. In fact it's quite common. Let's say we have two teachers, both earning a $50,000 annual salary. One lives in Longview where she rents a 3 bedroom apartment which I see in today's classifieds are about $950 or less. The other works for a school district in King County where the average price of the same 3 bedroom apartment is $1200 - $1700 (and can be much, much more), depending on where in the county you live. This is just one example but can you see my point? It's not just about how much a teacher earns per year, it's how much they have left in their pockets after the bills are paid at the end of the month. "

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