Why is there not a national minimum that teachers have to be paid?

Question

After a 4 years in college, I have been offered a teaching position that starts at 21k. To me, thats rediculous. any thoughts or somone know why this is not possible?

Answer 1

I agree that, generally speaking, teachers' salaries are too. low. I've been a teacher for 30 years and still only take home less than $40,000 per year.

Teachers' salaries are usually bargained through negotiations between the local school boards and the bargaining units (unions) representing the teachers. Depending on how each state funds its public school systems, what teachers end up getting is contingent on how much monies are available for education. . Many states have their own minimum salary schedules.

The trouble with having a national minimum teachers salary schedule is that a school board (while engaged in contract negotiations with the union) might say "All we have to pay your teachers, by Federal Law, is x amount of money. We don't have to (or won't) pay you a penny more." It could be more difficult (though not impossible) to negotiate salaries higher than that national minimum.

So be careful what you ask for!

Answer 2

As with any other industry, a consistent pay rate is complicated by cost of living. Here in New Hampshire, housing is several hundred dollars more per month than it was in the Pacific Northwest, where I used to live. So a "living wage" that is appropriate here wouldn't be appropriate on the West Coast.

Schools have very limited budgets, so they're not likely to pay their teachers much more than the absolute minimum necessary to attract a sufficient number of applicants in the region.

Also, if you're teaching at the elementary or secondary level, you might have an opportunity for a higher salary if you return to school and get a specific certification from a Masters or fifth-year program. In some cases, your school will help you pay for this extra training. A Bachelors degree just doesn't mean as much as it used to.

Answer 3

The salary is based on the tax base of the district and the cost of living. If the district can only afford that , or if they have so many applicants that they can low ball that is what they are going to pay. In districts that have teacher shortages your beginning salary would be almost 10K higher than that but that might also mean moving to a very large urban district or a district with a lot of schools in need that can not retain teachers. (its a trade off) The states themselves can not even mandate a minimum salary because it would burden too many individual districts. Teachers Salaries will rise because fewer people are willing to go into education because of the lack of respect, the stringent requirements and the lack of pay. Districts will get desperate and pay more because they have to offer a free and equal education to all children and they need teachers to do that. Tax payers would not tolerate being told there is no school for their children.

Answer 4

The constitution gives certain powers to the states, education of its citizens being one of them.

The federal government does have a minimum wage; thankfully, teachers are paid more than that! Outside of the minimum wage, the federal government does not tell employers how much they must pay their workers. Teachers are hired by local districts, not by the federal government, so the feds have no say in teacher salaries.

The cost of living in the different parts of the country also is a factor. If the cost of living is low in your area, you will make less, if it is more, you will make more, but you will still have problems finding appropriate housing and making ends meet.

Most people will not argue with you that teachers are underpaid. If you went into teaching for the money, sorry, its not there. But, most states have a retirement plan in addition to social security (though some do not pay into the social security system) for teachers and also provide medical insurance and a life insurance policy as long as you are employed.

Answer 5

I am looking into teaching and that is a scary salary. Thats not much more than my $10 hr job that doesn't require much of me... Where do you live? Salary depends on each state, so does the minimum... Some are working on theirs, thats why people always joke, "I cant afford that, I live on a teachers salary" It is getting better here in Florida, starting is about 30 avg. and then even more for experience and higher degrees. 4 years in college is pretty basic nowadays unfortunetly!!

Answer 6

I am a teacher too and, while I agree we deserve more... the truth is, there are just too many teachers in most areas. It's supply and demand. There's a huge supply, so they don't need to offer high salaries to tempt people into the profession.

Also, because teachers are (usually) paid for by taxpayers, most communities will not allow teachers to be paid too lavishly. If teachers make 60-80k per year, it would be a HUGE burden on the taxpayers-- schools districts typically have hundreds or thousands of teachers... taxpayers can't afford to give that many people high salaries. And taxpayers will argue, "Why do we pay them so much if there is such a surplus of teachers available looking for jobs-- many would work for far less."

My opinion is not popular among teachers.... and I am the first one to agree that it takes a lot of schooling and training to do what we do... but I think my opinion is grounded in reality.

Answer 7

First, that is ridiculous. Move! Here in VA we are at $33K. I did get my masters so they bumped me up $1K. Wow!

Much of teacher salary comes from state and local budgets - not the federal government. So as Mike answered - it depends on cost of living, but it also depends on the tax base of your region. The school board of your county has to determine how to allocate funds for new schools, equipment, and the salaries of support staff as well. And they are allocating money that was allocated to them from the state and local levels. At those levels, the big pot of tax money is divided up many, many ways too. So there just isn't enough money to go around. And some places just do not put an emphasis on the importance of small class sizes and teaching talent.

Answer 8

I started above 40K in my very first year of teaching right out of college. 21k really sucks for a college graduate, is it a private school or something?
You should make a counter offer.

Answer 9

When the system of education was setup educational desions were given to the state and most states gave the final power to the local community.