Survey Shows Moderate Teacher Pay Growth, Strategic Stipend Use. HR Exchange February 2008. TASB On Line

Vol. 14 No. 4		February 2008

Survey Shows Moderate Teacher Pay Growth, Strategic Use of Stipends The 2007–08 TASB/TASA Salaries and Benefits in Texas Public Schools Teacher Report shows moderate growth in salaries and more strategic use of salary stipends to address the realities of today’s teacher job market. TASB HR Services’ teacher salary survey included data on 93 percent of the state’s total teacher population for the 2007–08 school year. Last year, the Texas Legislature gave teacher pay a big boost by providing a $2,500 state-funded pay raise for all teachers. Local districts added even more, resulting in a total average pay increase of 8.6 percent. This year, as expected, teacher salary growth has slowed considerably, down to 3.2 percent. The 2007–08 average teacher salary in all districts surveyed was $46,336. Comparing teacher salaries So how does the average Texas teacher salary compare to the salaries offered in other states and to other occupations in Texas? According to the National Education Association’s Estimates of School Statistics, the national average classroom teacher salary was expected to be $50,816 last year. Assuming a typical growth rate of 3 percent, the national average teacher salary should be close to $52,000, leaving Texas at 88 percent of the national average and likely still hovering in the bottom half of state rankings. A new Education Week report, Quality Counts 2008, analyzed teacher pay relative to 16 comparable occupations requiring a bachelor’s degree. Again, Texas falls short. Nationwide, public school teachers earn 88 cents for every dollar earned in comparable occupations. In Texas, teachers earned 80.8 cents. Comparable occupations included registered nurses, accountants, computer programmers, insurance underwriters, etc. Some good news about teacher pay in Texas is that size does matter. Teacher salaries are substantially higher in the state’s largest school districts and those districts employ the most teachers. The state average teacher salary range is $33,105 for a beginning teacher and $52,477 at the top of the pay scale. But in districts with more than 50,000 students enrolled, the average beginning salary is $42,557 and the average top salary is $68,364. Thus, more Texas teachers are earning a higher salary than the state average reveals. More districts differentiate teacher pay Education critics have long decried the practice of paying teachers solely for degrees and years of experience. In Texas, this practice is changing as more districts differentiate and incentivize teacher pay according to market-based variables. Consider these trends from the 2007 survey respondents: Sixty percent of districts pay stipends to teachers in critical content shortage fields, up from 53 percent last year. The number of districts paying salary stipends for content areas increased by 11 percent or more in every surveyed shortage area except for English as a Second Language. These include math, science, bilingual education, foreign language, and special education. An emerging trend is the practice of paying stipends to teach at high-needs campuses. The federal No Child Left Behind Act calls for an equitable distribution of highly qualified teachers on low-performing campuses. This need has prompted some districts (28) to offer incentives for more challenging campus assignments. Campus assignment incentives were used in 13 of the 20 regions of the state across small and large school districts. Performance incentives were used by 198 districts. While growth in this practice has been fueled by state and federal funding, 55 of those reporting districts had a locally designed and funded incentive plan in place. The award criteria for most incentives are tied to student performance (88 percent). Math teachers earning more For the first time, math certification was the most frequently paid stipend. Bilingual certification had long been the most common stipend paid in prior surveys. The number of districts paying stipends for math teachers jumped 25 percent from the previous year, to a total of 57 percent of districts. The additional amount paid for a math teacher averaged nearly $2,000 but went as high as nearly $10,000. The use of science stipends, although not as prevalent as math, jumped by 40 percent last year. Hiring bonuses paid for math and science teachers also increased. The use of hiring bonuses increased from 11 percent to 13 percent, and most of these bonuses were paid to lure math and science teachers. To compete in today’s marketplace for qualified teachers requires using your payroll dollars strategically. Districts will need to leverage limited funding to meet their greatest staffing needs. Highlights from the 2007–08 Teacher Survey are available on HR Services’ Web site.

HRX Front | HRS Home | Archives | TASB Home