If you're interested in knowing individual salaries/benefits for the teachers and other staff in your school district, you can find them at this link.
The data is provided by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. It is organized in Excel spreadsheets, alphabetically by district. The files may take a moment or two to load.
Posted by Marsha Richards at August 31, 2005 04:38 PM | Email ThisI see some people making 80,000 + a year. Others making 20,000. I wonder what makes the difference.
Posted by: Jeremy in Walla Walla on August 31, 2005 05:17 PMPersonally I want to know how Darlene Ackerman in the Garfield school district has a total salary of $170,000 when her base salary is listed as $19,906 and her benefits are listed as $2,808. Where does the extra $150,094 come from?
Beyond that, I believe that salary is directly proportional to the attainment of degrees and years of incumbency.
Posted by: Mike C. on August 31, 2005 05:36 PM
oops...I think the correct spelling is, "WOOF!!!"
Now don't get me wrong. I am forty, changing careers, and will be earning about 35,000 to start. I disagree with the teacher strikes. I am not a member of the union because I think that the WEA and NEA are a bunch of left wing thugs. That is one reason why I have posted anonymously here. I am a regular contributor to the discussion boards at soundpolitics.com. However, and in spite of the idiotic retoric coming out of some of these teachers about being on the dole, the salaries of teachers are, imo, ridiculously low. I know that there are those who will argue that we only work 182 days per year and calculate some crazy per hour figure that we allegedly make. Let's put that into perspective. Anyone who works a non teaching job works 260 days per year. Subtract three weeks vacation for someone who has been on the job for fifteen years and you work 239 days per year. That is 31% more than a teacher. So increase the fifteen year salary by 31% and you should only be earning $65 to $70 thousand per year. How many professionals with a Master's degree in the job for fifteen years are making less than $70 thou?
Now lets talk about hours worked. Much is made of the fact that the "work day" is only 7.5 hours long. What else goes into being a teacher? I teach three different classes, two of them twice for a total of five periods per day. I get one 45 minute period to prepare during the school day, plus half an hour before and half an hour after the kids are in class, so one hour forty five minutes. During this time I must figure out how to most effectively teach three different lessons, grade the homework and/or tests from five periods of kids (approximately 150 assignments), answer questions from five or six kids who don't understand something in today's assignment, enter the grades into the computer system which is a piece of crap because we don't have the budget for a good one, enter attendance into the same crap computer system, fill out any paperwork required by the state for that day's or week's teaching, answer phone calls from parents who want to know why their kid didn't pass the last math test (answer he screwed around in class every single day keeping me from helping kids who needed math help and not learning anything in the process), attend a faculy meeting, etc.
What do you suppose the odds are that I get everything done in the alloted time? My answer is slim to none. Now I am either staying an extra couple hours twice a week to catch up (with no overtime pay) or taking the work home on the weekend. So, let's talk about weekends.
I am obligated as a teacher to chaperone at least two extracurricular events over the course of the school year. Doesn't sound like much, but that's two evenings or weekend days that I don't get paid extra for. Most schools don't have the budget to hire full time coaches and assistant coaches to teach the kids football, basketball, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, diving, cross country, track, etc, etc, etc. That is where the supplemental pay comes in. If I offer my services I pick up an extra four or five thousand for the season. In exchange I run practice two or three times per week, I give up my weekends to go to games and meets, and at some point I have to do what every coach does and meet with my other coaches to come up with game plans, do paperwork, etc. All this in addition to teaching a full course load.
So, do I sympathize with teacher's who go on illegal strikes and make up lies about their dire financial straits? Of course not. I think that they are pathetic whiners. Do I think that teacher's should get paid more? Absolutely.
So why do I do it? Well, as a matter of fact, I love it.
Posted by: Hide Me From the NEA thugs on August 31, 2005 06:58 PMContracted hours is the number of hours that you are required to work in a day.
It is a union/contract sort of thing.
Posted by: Calvin A on August 31, 2005 07:00 PMThe sad part of this list is the best teachers get no leg up in salary. Some of the worst teachers my kids have, make over $90K per year, while some of the best are making $30K. I know experience counts, but we really need some accountability.
Posted by: Anonforthisone on August 31, 2005 10:32 PMI don't mean to diminish the impact of kindergarten teachers, but it seems industry recruits many more science / math teachers away than kindergarten teachers.
I agree with you; I have no love for the NEA, but I do think teachers are underpaid. My brother has taught 4th grade for the last 18 years. I have great respect for him and the many teachers like him who put up with so much day after day. They do it because they love what they do, and they want to make a difference. The school where my brother teaches has many single parent families. Quite a few children have parents on drugs, and many have at least one parent in jail. Parent - teacher conferences leave a lot to be desired. I'm sure this isn't an uncommon scenario for teachers these days, but I sure wouldn't want to deal with it. Do I agree with illegal teachers strikes? No. But I do feel that many of our teachers are underpaid and unappreciated.
Posted by: Debbie on August 31, 2005 11:07 PMAnonforthisone hit the nail on the head here. The better teachers are underpaid and the crummy ones are overpaid.
I showed the list to my daughter who has had these teachers at one time or another. She is shocked at what some of them are making. The choir teacher makes a lot more that the award winning chemistry teacher. What a crock.
I have no sympathy for the teachers in this town. They are very, very well paid for Whitman County.
Posted by: cc on September 1, 2005 12:17 AMA related issue is whether a free market for teachers would increase the quality of applicants. That one is open to debate.
Posted by: petec on September 1, 2005 07:49 AMHave you all noticed the new schools disguised as TajMahals? And the old drama club gets a multi-million dollar facility. What's wrong with just using the gym like we used to do?
Posted by: swatter on September 1, 2005 08:18 AM$53,869
When you factor in that this is for a 3/4 time appointment, you can then figure the equivalent salary for a whole year:
$53,869/0.75 = $71,824.67.
Which isn't chump change. The money is there...what needs to happen is that the deadwood needs to be jettisoned and the top performing teachers rewarded.
Posted by: steve_dog on September 1, 2005 08:35 AMThis is an excellent resource! Thanks for putting it up!!!
Posted by: Patrick E. Bell on September 1, 2005 01:39 PMLook.... the rest of us work around 270 days per year. Teachers: 182.
The rest of us work 8 or 9 hour days, or, if, like myself, I own my own business, 12 or more hours a day. Teachers: 7.
Considering that teaching is a part time job,I think these clowns are overpaid big time.
Let's see... 183 day work year... 7 hour days...
Starting pay of $37,595?
That means they earn $205 per day for each day they actually work.
And THAT means they earn $29.34 per hour TO START.
Do police and fire make that much? How about a PFC in Baghdad?
Screw these people. I'm sick of their prima donna BS.
Here's a clue to all you teachers out there.
Were you not aware of the pay scale before you made this noble sacrifice of "teaching?"
If you were, you have absolutely NO complaint coming.
If you were NOT, then you're incompetent idiots who shouldn't be allowed to teach in a dog obedience school.
If you don't like the outrageous amount of money we're paying you, then quit. Go pump gas for a living.
But stop complaining... because, in the end, you SHOULD have known better.
And for God's sake, STOP LYING ABOUT YOUR PAY, like those teacher scum here: http://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/004995.html
as for the AP Chem teacher only making 54K, this is more than many of the chemists that are actually working in the lab. starting pay for a chemist and teacher are also quite similar although the work environments are totally different.
i am tired of hearing the poor teacher bs. you knew the pay going into your career just like i did when i chose mine (chemistry).
Posted by: chemistry on September 1, 2005 02:21 PMMy brother has taught 4th grade for the last 18 years. I have great respect for him and the many teachers like him who put up with so much day after day. They do it because they love what they do, and they want to make a difference. The school where my brother teaches has many single parent families. Quite a few children have parents on drugs, and many have at least one parent in jail. Parent - teacher conferences leave a lot to be desired. I'm sure this isn't an uncommon scenario for teachers these days, but I sure wouldn't want to deal with it.
Sounds to me like your brother ought to be running a refugee camp, rather than pretending he is a public school teacher. There is a huge difference between the mission of saving lives versus teaching academics, don't you think? Maybe it is just too hard to do both.
One of the disappointing things to me is that special needs teachers make the same amount as classroom teachers. I know of one in the Issaquah district who specialized in autism. She was one fantastic lady with a special heart for these children. The emotional and physical demands on her were tremendous, but she performed far above expectations. Her salary is further up the scale because of her seniority, but she deserves far more. I understand she has gone back into the classroom because of the inequity in pay. What a tragic loss. Meanwhile, I looked up the special needs teacher's salary at my grandson's new school. She makes 1/3 what this other teacher makes, but she is also totally inadequate.
Why is this? In a market-based system, the prices (salaries) will automatically organize themselves at whatever level is needed to get the job done. If the work is too difficult, or too specialized, then the pay scale will increase to ensure someone does the work. If the job is such that any fool could do it, then the pay scale will adjust downwards, perhaps even to a point so low that it is not a living wage. (Horrors!)
Well our schools do not hire and develop pay scales using a market economy. Collective bargaining establishes the rates, and one of the principals of collective bargaining is that no one is better than anyone else, expect for the union leaders, perhaps. The unions have insisted that the work load and skill sets of the special ed teachers is at par with all the other teachers.
Damn it! If you want specialized teaching, get your kids out of the public schools. It's that simple.
Posted by: huckleberry on September 1, 2005 02:51 PMIf ever there was a privacy problem you folks are living proof. Marsha???? Do you feel better? What is you point because you certainly didn't put it in the post. Is this just a little FYI to your buddies so you can snicker at the poor bastards making so little amount of money doing one of the most important jobs in the country, EDUCATING YOUR CHILDREN??
You bitch about the hours and how that actually adds up to more pay during the off hours. But that ain't how it works.
What a bunch of losers.
Posted by: Jimmy on September 1, 2005 03:48 PMThe dirty little secret? Teachers stay at it because they know they won't be paid more somewhere else, given their skills. I don't care how many degrees they have. If I recall, it wasn't the best and brightest getting teaching certificates when I was in college.
Don't get me wrong - I fully support my local teachers. But I am tired of hearing them whine all the time.
Posted by: Janet S on September 1, 2005 04:11 PMTeachers salaries are public information. Teachers are threatening strikes against the public based in part over their salaries. That's why it's posted. Nothing private about it. Same applies to state employees.
Don't like your salary posted? Don't have the public paying for it. You can't have it both ways, even though that would spare you the apparent "snickering at the poor bastards." Grow up.
Posted by: jimg on September 1, 2005 04:34 PMWhen Huckleberry can tell me that he has rocked one of these children in his arms with tears rolling down his face, then I will listen to his absurdity. It is heartbreaking enough to have one of these special ones in the family. We don't need folks void of compassion telling families that they need to take these kids (and pay for it) to special schools. I might add that my little grandson would gladly take an IQ test and surprise Huckleberry.
Posted by: lksimstrailgrammy on September 1, 2005 05:37 PMMarsha,
We had more fun at work today looking at the salaries. The sobering statistic was the benefits column. What does that include? Retirement, health insurance? I understand from my boss, my health insurance premium costs the company around $300 a month. I have better coverage than my daughter, who is a teacher right here in Washington State.
If the teachers' union is going to set teachers up to engage in illegal strikes claiming they are underpaid, how are the teachers' employers, the taxpayers, supposed to know if the union's claim is correct or not without knowing how much the teachers are making? Seems to me this information should be made available to the public before every union contract is agreed to and every levy is put up for a vote.
If you go to your boss and ask for a raise claiming you are underpaid, the only way your boss can make a fair judgment is to have your current salary before him to judge whether or not your performance merits additional pay.
Why should teachers be treated any differently?
Posted by: no strikes on September 1, 2005 06:39 PMHas it ever occurred to you that it might be a typing error rather than a lack of English skills? Good lord, someone types a long essay and all you can critique is one accidental apostrophe?
Get a life.
Posted by: Hide me on September 1, 2005 09:04 PMActually there is a huge shortage of math and science teachers. Do we get more pay? Nope.
Posted by: Hide me on September 1, 2005 09:07 PMActually Janet, I was making substantially more than I am now making as a teacher. I chose to leave knowing the low pay. Does that make the low pay right? No it doesn't. Just because I accepted the low pay doesn't mean I don't think it should be higher. Also, I thought teachers should make more before I was a teacher. For you to sneer at teachers' "low skills" is pretty arrogant. You have no idea what our skills are. You may have known some of the slower students in the teaching program, but there are also those of us who graduated with highly technical engineering degrees and teaching credentials with GPAs of over 3.8. There are teachers like myself who worked in the private sector making plenty of money and then chose to give that up and do something more rewarding. What gives you the right to sneer at our choices?
Posted by: hide me on September 1, 2005 09:14 PMWhen did you go to college and where?
Posted by: cc on September 1, 2005 09:18 PMKnowing the salaries is OK. Yes, that does help those who wonder. But publishing names? Anyone who has children in school will know some of these people. It is insulting. EFF could delete the last name or something. This is just another EFF campaign to gut public education. What do they want, everyone in a religious school? I don't know the exact motivation but it sure smells like an agenda. If we are ever going to better OUR public education system it will never happen through tactics like this.
Posted by: jimmy on September 2, 2005 06:32 AMI think that is a great idea! When the body of that worn out carpenter, electrition etc... (I am being serious here) can't even hold a tape measure, we could educate them how to teach. I am all over that. I used to hammer nails. I have taught classes, and there is nothing more fun than taking practical experience to the classroom. Imagine teaching math and not having practical experience. That would be tough. Fortunately for me, most of my math teachers had practical experience in other areas.
Posted by: jimmy on September 2, 2005 06:38 AMWithout the names, how can the individual performance of teachers be known? The most useful part of the OSPI spreadsheet is the fact that the names and salaries are listed. That way parents who have heard from their kids and other parents which teachers are excellent and which teachers are not can see if the union salary scale reflects as much.
Posted by: No Strike on September 2, 2005 07:25 AMI agree there's a shortage of math and science teachers. I think they should be paid more. There's a simple answer - a free market for teachers. The crappy ones will get fired, the competent ones will make a decent living, and the great ones will be highly paid, just like the rest of us non-union types in the real world.
Posted by: petec on September 2, 2005 07:33 AMThis raises a very troubling question in my mind: how many teachers have had their contracts terminated for reasons other than sexual exploits with students? What evaluation criteria exists to identify teacher incompetence, ineffectiveness, poor performance, or substandard teaching skills? How often is a teacher's classroom skills formally evaluated, by whom and against what criteria?
Or, do we simply rely on children to identify an excellent teacher one that is not?
How many teachers in YOUR districts have been terminated in the past 5 years for poor or substandard teaching performance?
Posted by: GMT on September 2, 2005 01:19 PMWhy do you insist on calling it the EFF list? It is posted on the website of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Maybe they should hide the names if that is a concern.
Posted by: Calvin A on September 3, 2005 11:18 AMthere is no hope for any of you. you lead pointless, angry, uninformed, bigoted, hate-filled lives. you're basing your conclusions on half truths, bold face lies, and bigotry.
you have no grasp on reality. you have no solutions for any of the problems this state or our country faces.
you are truly all pathetic. and marsha, you're the most pathetic of them all.
enjoy the hatred! that's all most of you have left in the world, isn't it?
Posted by: grznt on September 7, 2005 03:59 PM