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lae.org 
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Teacher Salary Lags Behind Inflation
NEA president warns low teacher pay shortchanges students
WASHINGTON—Despite the value of education to Americans, the National
Education Association published figures today showing that investments
in America’s public schools remain stagnant, as the average increase in
teacher salary continues to trail behind the rate of inflation for 2005–06.
No state has achieved adequate and equitable funding despite years of
court cases and education reform proposals.
According to NEA’s publication, Rankings and Estimates: Rankings of the
States 2006 and Estimates of School Statistics 2007, the average one-year
increase in public schoolteacher salaries was 2.9 percent, while inflation
escalated 3.9 percent. Over the past 10 years, the average salary for
public schoolteachers increased only 1.3 percent after adjusting for inflation.
Because of inflation and other economic factors, teachers have not been
able to keep pace with basic household expenses.
“Low teacher pay comes at a very high cost,” said NEA President Reg Weaver.
“How can we expect educators to be focused, committed and at their best
on a daily basis when they are fearful of the consequences of not earning
enough to support their families? Each year we lose excellent teachers
because they can’t afford to make ends meet. Low teacher pay shortchanges
the teaching profession, and students end up paying the price.”
Weaver continued: “The values we place on education must match the investments
if we’re going to attract highly qualified teachers or close student achievement
gaps and reduce the high school dropout rate.”
According to the report, the national average public schoolteacher salary
for 2005–06 was $49,026. State average public schoolteacher salaries ranged
from those in California ($59,825), Connecticut ($59,304) and the District
of Columbia ($59,000) at the high end to South Dakota ($34,709), North
Dakota ($37,764) and West Virginia ($38,284) at the low end.
Rankings & Estimates provides statistics to raise public understanding
of key issues affecting teaching and learning conditions in the nation’s
public schools. Other public education indicators, including school population
and student-teacher ratio, can be found in the state-by-state report.
Among the other highlights:
- Public school enrollment — Public school enrollment was 48,727,536,
up 0.7 percent over fall 2004. The largest percentage of school enrollment
increases from fall 2004 to fall 2005 were in Nevada (3.1%), Georgia
(2.9%), Texas (2.8%) and Arizona (2.4%). Eighteen states and the District
of Colombia experienced declines in student enrollment in fall 2005.
The greatest declines were in Louisiana (-9.6%), North Dakota (-2.2%),
Utah (-1.9%) and the District of Colombia (-1.3%).
- Expenditures per student — Average per student expenditure for public
elementary and secondary schools was $9,100 based on 2005–06 fall enrollment.
States with the highest per student expenditures were New Jersey ($13,781),
New York ($13,551), Massachusetts ($12,596), Vermont ($12,475) and
- Connecticut ($12,436). Among the states with the lowest per student
expenditures were Utah ($5,347), Arizona ($5,585), Nevada ($6,755),
Oklahoma ($6,944) and Tennessee ($6,979). These figures, in the context
of adequacy and equity in school funding studies, are about 25 percent
short in meeting student needs.
- Gender diversity in teaching — Males comprised 24.4 percent of public
schoolteachers in 2006. Many of them taught in Kansas (33.3%), Oregon
(31.4%), Alaska (30.9%) or Indiana (30.5%). States with the lowest percentage
of male faculty were Arkansas (17.5%), Mississippi (17.7%), Louisiana
(17.8%), South Carolina (17.9%), Virginia (18.8%) and Georgia (19.3%).
Rankings and Estimates has presented selected education statistics since
the 1960s.
The complete report can be found at http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/07rankings.pdf
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