If we are going to have this discussion, lets inject the actual data:
Teachers in Tulsa make, on average,
$44k per year. Thats close to the state average.
Starting pay with a BA is $32k, a Masters is $33k. Max with a BA is $49k, MA is $52K. There is no performance bonuses. A teacher with a masters and 5 years of experience makes $36k per year.
Benefits include
healthcare for the teacher, and dental and vision for ~$50 a month.
Adding a child adds about $400 a month, a spouse adds a bit more. They are given various plans to choose from.
Retirement benefits are included. They used to be very generous, now the employee contribution is 7% per year and the state match is a wild formula based on years served. If you now retire before the age of 62, you face significant penalties regardless of years of service (50% penalty if you retire at 55). The averaged retired teacher in Oklahoma sees a benefit of $20k per year. Given that the teacher pays in 7%, this means the state match is minimal and it really isn't much of a benefit anymore.
A teacher is required to work 180 days per year, minimum 7 days per year, and is not eligible for overtime. If you grade papers at home, come in early, stay late, or whatever... there is no overtime (unlike police where overtime is expected and unpaid services are forbidden by contract). The contracted minimum hours per workyear is 1260 hours (time in classroom).
I saw no allowance for misc. supplies - so I guess the adage about teachers equipping their own classrooms is true (again, contrast that other city workers like police and fire)?
Great resource for teacher pay/benefits:
http://www.nctq.org/districtPolicy/contractDatabase/district.do?id=98 , and you can compare Tulsa to many, many other districts in the state and around the country.
For perspective...
A starting teacher in Tulsa working the minimum number of hours and doing nothing outside of the school day will make about $25 per hours plus OK benefits. The average teacher would be around $35/hour. The ceiling for that teacher is effectively $40 per hour if they get a PHD. The bad news is you cannot get overtime and cannot get paid for all actual hours worked. Good news is you get summers and holidays off.
$25/hr puts them in line with lab techs, avionic techs, and sales reps. Again, with a significant less annual take home (for better or worse). 50
$35 per hour is an architect, construction manager, occupational therapist, financial analyst, or network administrator.
$40/hr is a refinery operator, health and safety engineer, environmental engineer, chemical engineer, etc.
If the teachers work the minimum hours, they have little to complain about in way of per-hour pay.
If the NEA is to believed, teachers spend on average 12 hours per week outside their contract hours. Or nearly 50 hours per week. That would cut the realized hourly wage by 33%. knocking starting pay down to $19, then $26 and $32. Starting pay would be similar to tool grinders, maintenance workers, and LPNs. The work year would then be 1692 hours. (
others claim the average teacher works 12 hours a day during the school year, and
still others claim the average pay is $70k and they only work 6.5 hours per day... so I gave the contract minimum in Tulsa and the NEA numbers, which seems reasonable for many teachers)
Is that enough per hour? Too little? Too much? Well, the market seems to be saying it isn't enough as we cannot hire enough certified teachers to fill our positions. Oklahoma is #48 out of 51 for teacher pay. Beating out South Dakota and Mississippi.
The middle of the pack is about $50k per year. Other considerations:
Respect - this goes to the benefits Cascia/Riverfield/BK have. The teachers have respect from the community and the parents, and mostly from the kids. That helps a ton.
Job security - teachers used to have excellent job security. TPS averages a layoff what, every 3 years or so?
Benefits - teachers used to have top level benefits, particularly retirement. It was part of the tradeoff to keep experienced teachers around when the top end as a math teacher will never be the top end of an accountant/bookkeeper.
Vacation time - summers off mean a lot to some people.
Education Importance - cultures that value education attract better teachers. That has to do with all of the above, it also has to do with driving people to the profession.
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