The History of Teacher Pay

As pressing as this issue is in today's world, it is important to know the history of teacher pay to see how it has changed over the years.

According to a CPRE article, there have been three major shifts in the way teachers have been paid in the United States. In the 1800s, teachers were paid by a "boarding round" system, which consisted of room and board for the teacher provided by the local community. In the early 1900s, teachers started to be paid on a position-based salary schedule. This meant that elementary teachers were paid less than secondary teachers because of the differences in educational requirements for each position. The third historical shift came in the latter half of the 1900s. The single-salary schedule paid teachers the same salary if they had the same qualifications, and race and gender were not factors anymore. This system also instituted a pay raise for increasing years of experience, similar to what is practiced today.

Similarly, looking at the salary amount of teachers over time is important too. In a Chicago Mag article, the author looked at average teaching salaries over time to comment on the change that has occurred. In 1966 (the first year the author looked at), the average starting salary of a teacher was $5,500. Fast forward to 2010 where the starting pay was $50,500.

It is amazing how far it has come, yet how far it still has to go. (Side note: Chicago's average teacher salaries are higher than the national average.)

In the 2013 Texas legislative session, HB 176 was referred to the Public Education committee on February 6 and is still "in committee."

Preston Chilton
Post 4

Teacher Salary Increase: A Nationwide Effort

The issue of increasing teacher salaries is not specific to the Lone Star State. This is a nationwide problem that is being addressed in multiple ways by multiple states. North Carolina, Florida, and Pennsylvania have all recently created legislation that affect teacher salaries.

 

In North Carolina, Senate leader Phil Berger revived a proposal Tuesday to end job-protecting tenure rules for veteran school teachers and to move forward a pay proposal that seeks to reward the best-performing classroom instructors. Berger hopes this proposal will give teachers an extra incentive to perform well. Read more about this here.

Gov. Rick Scott pushed to give teachers $480 million in new money for pay raises. According to the article, Senate budget writers are likely to go along with Scott's new legislation.

 

Pennsylvania is cutting teacher salaries in Philadelphia. A recent meeting confirmed that 23 public schools are to be closed, which in effect will reduce teacher pay by 13 percent. Unfortunately, not all states are headed in the direction of increasing teacher salaries. Read more about the cuts here.

 

No updates on HB 176.

 

Photo Source: http://www.greatschoolsforamerica.org/gsa-wp/we-are-upset-photo-diary

 

Preston Chilton

Post 3

Teachers Are Still Fighting In Austin

As the legislative session pushes forward, Texas educators are still advocating for higher salaries while attacking other legislation.

HB 176, written by Armando Martinez, was introduced and referred to the committee on House Public Education on Feb. 6, 2013. This bill would increase Texas teacher salaries so they are closer to the national average.

The Texas Classroom Teachers Association is another group advocating for Texas teachers. However, the TCTA is in Austin opposing a piece of legislation. SB 2, presented by Dan Patrick, is being opposed by the TCTA because "the home-rule section of the bill essentially guts teacher rights and benefits, legal protections, parent and student rights, and many other provisions of the Education Code", according to their site. 

Something that may impact the outcome of legislation for Texas education is the recent court case that found Texas' system for funding schools unconstitutional. Judge Dietz found the system to be "inadequate" and "unfair". The case is headed to the Supreme Court. You can read the full story here.

Will the TCTA be successful in opposing SB 2? Will the court case affect what is happening in Austin?

Quote Source: Court Case Article

Preston Chilton
Post 2
Topic: Increasing Teacher Salaries, Texas Education