Arizona is the sixth worst place in the nation to be a teacher.
The Phoenix Business Journal shares a report by WalletHub.com which found
…the average starting salary for teachers, listed as $31,874 for 2012-13 school year by the National Education Association, is the 44th lowest of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
The Arizona Capitol Times reports that the ranking comes even after accounting for the lower cost of living here than many other places.
I’d like to see how Scottsdale Unified School District teacher pay compares, and how administration salaries stack up. I think these are highly pertinent questions with an SUSD governing board election looming, as well as a request for taxpayer approval of a budget override…the third SUSD financial request following two ballot defeats.
2 Comments
Even if they are higher than the average (which I assume is your concern), it is not enough. I have 2 children in the SUSD and know that one of the biggest problems is the lack of consistent quality teachers. There are good teachers in SUSD but there are mediocre ones, too.
The biggest reason for this is the low pay. $31,874 a year? Are you kidding me? That is what a Jamba Juice employee makes. Our teachers have college educations, most with Master degrees. They are tasked with an important job, far more important than making sure I have a protein boost.
Who is going to stick with a teaching job when the private sector will offer so much more for anyone who is talented. We will never get quality education without paying much more for our teachers. We need good salaries to attract good teachers.
Appreciate your comment, Gregg.
My daughter is an SUSD student, too, though we have been fortunate to have great teachers throughout her enrollment.
But it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to know that attracting AND retaining ANY good, dedicated employee to ANY profession requires good compensation.
While the point of the information I posted relates to ranking AZ educators’ compensation relative to other states’ educators, your point about comparing to other professions or vocations is perhaps even more important. I don’t know many people who’d relocate to another state for a little more money (and in education it would at-most be “a little more”). Many more would be inclined to take a job in another profession in the same state or city for a even a little more pay…let alone stability, respect, less-stressful work, etc.!