What's missing from discussions on teacher pay
Published September 24, 2015
by Bob Luebke, Civitas Review online, September 22, 2015.
Low teacher pay and North Carolina’s position relative to other states are subjects much in the news lately. Numerous factors contribute to each of those situations. One factor is the cost of teacher benefits, specifically social security, retirement and hospitalization. For a basis of comparison, let’s look at a few numbers from FY 2014-15. A teacher with an average salary of $43,426 (10 months) would receive the following benefits:
Social Security 7.65% ($3,152)
Retirement — 15.21% ($6,605)
Hospitalization – $5,378
Total Benefits: $15,135
Adding the benefits listed means teacher compensation is actually $58,521.
Want some perspective?
State per pupil support for 2014-15: $5,716
State retirement benefits per teacher (15.21%) $6,605
Hospitalization $5,378
The recently passed 2015-16 state budget included increases in the percentage allotted for retirement (15. 32%) and hospitalization ($5,471)that will push those figures even higher.
Of course teachers deserve fair wages. However, any fair discussion on teacher pay must also include the other side of the equation – benefits; a cost that is nearing $2 billion and has been missing from most discussions.
Figures from Highlights of North Carolina State Budget, 2015, page 14
September 24, 2015 at 12:09 pm
Norm Kelly says:
What else is missing from the discussion of teacher pay? Cost of living comparisons.
To say that teacher pay in NC ranks 42nd in the nation (or whatever the claim is) means absolutely nothing.
Not only do benefits need to be taken into consideration when comparing national averages, but cost of living around the nation needs to be considered.
The cost of living in Chicago or New York city are much more than here in most of NC, if not all of NC. So to say that a teacher in Chicago is wealthy in comparison to a teacher in Yadkin county is irrelevant. What's the difference in cost of living? When the cost of living in Chicago is taken into consideration, does the NC teacher come out on top? Of course.
Which is why libs NEVER mention cost of living but only a broad generalization of how poorly NC pays teachers. Most of which has to do with Republicans being in the majority in Raleigh. When libs rule Raleigh, and make actual cuts to education spending, they want us to ignore the effect. But when Republicans are the majority and actually increase government monopoly school spending, libs want us to ignore their bogus comparisons.
Liberalism is a mental disorder. And their desire is to spread the illness. Low-information is the ultimate goal for libs. Straw man arguments and obfuscation are their methods.
October 1, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Curt Budd says:
NC rated 50th in the nation for being in the teacher profession. Keep treating teachers like their 50th, you will soon start getting the 50th best instructing our future generations.
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-teachers/7159/
I told you, every time you come on this forum disparaging my profession I'm calling you out.
