South Carolina Teachers Salary Presented by: The SCEA SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON TEACHING NOVEMBER...

THE SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

South Carolina Teachers Salary

Presented by: The SCEA

SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON TEACHING

NOVEMBER 5, 2015


Senate Select Committee on Teaching

•Good Afternoon, I am Bernadette Hampton, President of The SC Education Association

•Along with me today is Roger Smith, Executive Director of The SC Education Association

•Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today

•We would like to present some data and recommendations to the Select Committee today



•Currently SC teachers are paid less than their colleagues in other states, both on a national and regional basis

•Teaching must be viewed as a career choice that allows educators to live and raise families in the communities they serve

•Teacher’s starting salary must be comparable to that of other college graduates who have similar education, training, and responsibility

•Economic Policy Institute Report – released in 2011, teachers’ earnings have decreased from a nearly 15% advantage over comparable professionals in 1960, to a 13% disadvantage in 2000

•SC teachers earned approximately 17% less per week than their counterparts with similar education (Allegretto, Corcoran & Mishel – 2011, The Teaching Penalty, Economic Policy Institute)



•SC salaries are below average nationally and regionally

•2013-14 SC’s average starting teacher salary of $32,389 ranks 39th nationally and 10th out of 12 of the southeastern states

•SC ranks 30th at $50,751 in the nation for average maximum bachelor’s degree and 6th in the southeastern states

•SC ranks 36th at $36,967 in starting salaries for teachers who hold a master’s degree nationally and 8th out of 12 in the southeastern states

•SC ranks 33rd at $57,331 in the nation for average maximum masters degree salary and 6th in the southeastern states



•SC ranks highest (18th nationally at $70,055) for the highest salary offered, usually for teachers who hold a PhD

•It takes more than 25 years of experience for most teachers to reach this highest salary in any of the schedule lanes

•Earning it only in the last years of their career

•In other words a teacher must work a complete career to reach the highest possible salary

•With starting and early career salaries being so low, teachers end up earning less over their career than their counterparts, such as, engineers, chemists, biologists, nurses, etc., in professions requiring comparable education, skills, etc.



•SC teacher salary increases have been minimal - not keeping up with increases in the Consumer Price Index since 2007-2008 until 2013–2014

•SC new teachers have lost 4.9% of their earnings

•SC experienced teachers holding a bachelor’s degree are seeing a 4.2% loss in earnings

•SC teachers holding a master’s degree lost 5.1% of their earning power

•SC teachers being paid at the highest master’s degree level are losing 3% of their earning power

•And the highest paid teachers n SC are still losing 4% of their earning power

•According to a report released by the Center for American Progress, Boser and Strauss, 2014, 16.1% nationally and 12.6% of SC teachers hold second jobs



South Carolina Salary Schedule Benchmarks Versus Inflation Over Time

Year Avg BA Min

Avg BA Max

Avg MA Min

Avg MA Max

Avg Max

2013-2014 $32,388 $50,751 $36,967 $57,331 $70,0552012-2013 $32,306 $50,484 $36,999 $57,151 $69,5912011-2012 $31,685 $49,383 $36,143 $55,899 $68,1692010-2011 $31,656 $49,154 $36,115 $55,628 $67,8612009-2010 $31,764 $49,214 $36,251 $55,710 $67,9462008-2009 $31,706 $49,344 $36,270 $55,114 $67,9792007-2008 $30,507 $47,214 $34,995 $53,756 $65,473

Change in average salary over 5 years 2.2% 2.9% 1.9% 4.0% 3.1%

Change in CPI-U from Sept. 2008-Sept. 2013 7.0% 7.0% 7.0% 7.0% 7.0%

Loss due to Inflation -4.9% -4.2% -5.1% -3.0% -4.0%Source: NEA Salary Database, U.S Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics



•After being hit hard by the “Great Recession” SC’s economy is again moving forward

•The state’s unemployment rate is close to the the national average

•While SC is one of the top states for doing business (#3 in the nation according to one survey released in October) SC also ranks as having the 7th worst quality of life of any state in an October survey by the World Bank

•SC is spending 15.7% less per pupil in FY 2014 than it did in FY 2008

•Only five other states have overseen a larger drop in per pupil funding than SC



•Local public schools are often referred to as the heart of SC’s rural communities

•A Wall Street Journal article called local schools in rural areas “the Best Business in Town”

•The Wall Street Journal articles notes that, in addition to their main mission of educating students, local public schools also function as “business” – clean low-pollution industries, providing good jobs to local workers and supporting the local economy

•Studies have found that public school spending in rural communities has a particularly strong effect because, in the near term, that spending is high labor intensity, high local purchase intensity, and a relatively high share of the local economy

•In the long term education spending is: a key source of labor productivity; a source of regional competiveness; and a major indicator of regional quality of life



•A study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that for each dollar in state aid to local communities raised property values by $20, suggesting that residents and potential residents see significant value in local public school spending

•At a time when most families require two incomes to survive – teachers’ jobs, particularly in rural communities, often provide the stable source of income that allows the non-teacher spouse, often a farmer or small business owner, to continue in the business even during economic downturns

•Teacher pay determines a local school district’s ability to attract and retain high quality teachers and staff



How might SC go about implementing a new teacher salary system?•Recommendation 1 – Increase the state minimum salary schedule to a $40,000 starting salary

•Recommendation 2 – School districts should collaborate with teacher associations to consider ways to of strengthening teachers pay including local salary supplements to ensure recruitment and retention of teachers

•Recommendation 3 - Make a long-term commitment with sustainable and appropriate funding source(s) to make SC’s teachers’ pay competitive with rest of the US and comparable professions

•Recommendation 4 - Provide quality mentoring and support for induction teachers and quality and targeted professional development to meet the needs of teachers



•Thank you for the opportunity to present to the Committee.

•Any questions?

South Carolina Teachers Salary Presented by: The SCEA SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON TEACHING NOVEMBER...

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