Teacher salaries
I've been mulling over some arguments I heard on the radio yesterday. A caller seemed to think that Lowell teachers should not be highly paid because the average income in the city is $30,000 (this is according to the caller; some quick internet research indicates that it is actually $42,000, according to CNNMoney's 2005 profile. Wikipedia has census data from 2000 that shows a median income for households of $39,000 and for families of $46,000. As usual, pick your own statistics to back your argument.)
The point is: must teacher salaries reflect those of the community? (I might add that teachers are professionals. Would the caller want his doctor's salary to be commensurate with that of his neighbors?) Ed Reform increased state aid to cities and towns in an attempt to level the playing field, so that children from poorer communities would have a chance at the same quality education that their peers in other towns receive.
If we don't believe in the ideals of Ed Reform, then let's say so, but let's not take it out on teachers. I think our students need and deserve the same quality teachers that children in Acton and Chelmsford have. The fact that Lowell can now compete for the best teachers is a cause for celebration. In any case, the Lowell taxpayer is certainly not footing the bill for the increased school budget since 1993, and again, that was the whole point of Ed Reform.
The point is: must teacher salaries reflect those of the community? (I might add that teachers are professionals. Would the caller want his doctor's salary to be commensurate with that of his neighbors?) Ed Reform increased state aid to cities and towns in an attempt to level the playing field, so that children from poorer communities would have a chance at the same quality education that their peers in other towns receive.
If we don't believe in the ideals of Ed Reform, then let's say so, but let's not take it out on teachers. I think our students need and deserve the same quality teachers that children in Acton and Chelmsford have. The fact that Lowell can now compete for the best teachers is a cause for celebration. In any case, the Lowell taxpayer is certainly not footing the bill for the increased school budget since 1993, and again, that was the whole point of Ed Reform.
2 Comments:
Also, the amount you should pay teachers has more to do with the affordability of housing and not average salaries. If you want to attract good teachers, you can't pay them so little they can't afford to live in Massachusetts or somewhere in its vicinity.
And looking around Lowell these last 5 years, increases in housing costs means we should be giving our public servants, especially teachers, huge raises.
You're right, Lynne. When people complain about the high salaries that teachers in the Boston area receive compared to the rest of the state, they are leaving the high cost-of-living factor out of the equation.
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