Here’s a surprising result from a national poll co-sponsored by The Associated Press: “Americans overwhelmingly believe teachers don’t make enough money, and half say they’d support paying higher taxes to give educators a raise.”
That’s a far cry from the usual grousing heard from the public when the topic is education. The more typical thinking is that school spending is out of control and teachers should only get a raise when more students excel. (As if teachers are the main reason that so many schools and students struggle.)
But teacher rebellions in at least five states, if you can call them that, appear to be changing a few minds. It started last month in West Virginia, where teachers got a raise from the Legislature after going on strike.
Similar protests have since occurred in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado and Arizona. In fact, Arizona teachers recently rejected an offer for a 20 percent raise, saying it didn’t include a legislative promise not to further cut taxes.
No one will dispute that teaching is a challenging job. It’s perhaps as much of a calling as it is a profession, since those who stay in the classroom instead of advancing to administration are unlikely to become wealthy through their paychecks. Many times, the rewards of being a teacher are not financial.
However, when it comes down to pay, the real question is, how much is appropriate? How does teacher pay compare with other professional classes and other public employees?
The AP reports that in the 2016-17 school year, the national average teacher salary was $58,950. Three quarters of those in the AP poll said that’s not enough. Another 15 percent thought it was the right amount and 6 percent said it was too much.
A 2017 survey put the Mississippi average at $42,744, which was the lowest in the nation.
Even when you factor in Mississippi’s lower cost of living, the state is at the bottom of the salary curve, which surely makes it difficult for school districts to compete with neighboring states who pay more. To state it another way, if a teacher is looking around for a job, other states offer a better package than Mississippi does.
But 30 years of arguing about teacher pay has taught one lesson: In this lifetime, Mississippi will not catch up to the Southern average, much less the national average. To even try, the state would be forever chasing constantly moving figures, competing against states with more resources. This has been nothing more than an exercise in frustration.
If Mississippi teachers copy what their peers in other states are doing, and get a raise out of it, more power to them. They do have a demanding job, but the state already is allocating a large percentage of tax dollars to education when there are many other demands unmet.
Add to that the generous retirement package that teachers and other public employees get, and that $42,744 average seems tolerable by Mississippi standards.
Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
