A new report that looks at trends in teacher salaries since 1979 compares to both inflation and other jobs of similar education levels. It ain’t pretty for our teachers.
Here are Five Fast Facts about the “teacher pay penalty”:
- 🕰️The Early History - Until the mid-1990s, teacher pay had a consistent $300 gap, or “pay penalty” when compared to other jobs with similar education levels. It kept up with or exceeded inflation, though. You take what you can get, amiright?
- 📉Then It Took An Ugly Turn - After 1995, teacher pay flatlined harder than the 49ers’ offense against the Seahawks’, while pay for other workers continued to rise. Last year the average weekly pay for teachers was $1300, while for other workers it was $2000.
- 🎛️🎚️Making Adjustments - Adjusting for factors like age, state, and race (among others), the worst pay penalty lands on male teachers. Last year it was 35.2%! Hmm, can’t imagine why there aren’t more male teachers…
- 😒Here At Home - The national average pay penalty is 23.5%. Here in Washington state, it’s even worse at 29.1%. 🤦
- 🤨😊A Bit Of Good News - The one bit of silver lining is the benefits packages teachers have when compared to other jobs. If you factor that in, the pay penalty drops by 9.3%. Yay, so we’re only 14% in the hole now. That’s way better.
🔥Bottom line: If no good deed goes unpunished, then apparently neither does a good career choice. This is terrible for Paychecks, obviously, but also for our teachers and our kids. We gotta' come up with some good solutions on this, and fast!
What do you think should be done about the teacher pay penalty?
Let us know by connecting with us on Facebook and Instagram! Also, remember to share this newsletter with your friends & coworkers!
Btw, If you’ve read this far and haven’t yet signed up for the weekly Paycheckology newsletter, CLICK HERE!
