Local opinion: Much more needs to be done on teacher pay

Re: the Dec. 7 article “Hobbs, lawmaker optimistic AZ will raise teacher pay.”

As I read the article on the governor’s task force on education, I found their naivete and what seems like a total lack of research to be almost laughable. Having moved to Tucson after many years as an educator in Washington State, I do know what it costs to improve education.

The governor’s excitement about $2 million for an induction program for new teachers is admirable, but woefully inadequate. While these programs will help retain teachers and get them through their first years of teaching, improving the odds they’ll stay in the profession, $2 million would provide funding to run a decent program for ONE moderate sized school district for a year or two. It won’t make a dent for a whole state.

Both the governor and Sen. Ken Bennett are excited about a $4,000 a year raise for teachers. I don’t doubt their sincerity, but did they look at other western states? A teacher with two years experience in Flagstaff will make $50,100 a year, topping out at $55,000 after 15 years. That same teacher with two years of experience in Washington State will make over $80,000 a year and after 16 years will top out at $148,000. And before you start with your “it costs less to live here” argument, let me assure you that the difference is small. Those are real dollars the Arizona teacher is giving up each year.

Sen. Bennett’s idea of collective, statewide insurance is a baby step in the right direction, but reading a bit more closely, you see that he never suggests the State cover the full cost of family insurance. Sometimes you get what you pay for. The state of Arizona has negotiated some of the worst insurance plans I’ve ever worked under. If this is the insurance Sen. Bennett is excited to foist on Arizona educators, I’d suggest they run while they can.

The one thing I didn’t see mentioned was contributions to the employees retirement system. While working in both Alaska and Washington, the percentage I was asked to contribute as compared to the amount the state and the district contributed was relatively small. When I began working at the University of Arizona, I was shocked at the huge percentage taken out of my check each month for retirement. The State should assume a much larger portion of the individual teacher’s retirement cost.

Stress, the number one cause of teachers leaving the profession, was glossed over in the report, yet is second to salary in importance. Providing teachers with grade level or subject collaboration time during the school day, guaranteed planning time, guaranteed lunch time, class size of no more than 22-23 students, administrative support, a classroom supply budget for each teacher as well as supplies for the school, specialists in music and PE, and a school librarian and nurse in each school are just a few ways to lower the stress level. Of course, since these cost money, they were left out.

If you are truly trying to reform your compensation system to match your competitors, the first step is to research the current market. While we don’t see clear evidence of this from the article, let’s assume they did a market analysis. This would illuminate how remarkably far behind Arizona has fallen. Compare this to a race. The starting gun has fired, your competitors are rounding the first turn, and you haven’t started yet. Assuming you want to stay in the race, you no longer have the option of a leisurely pace. You’ll need to give it your all. To catch up and even this race it will take many more billions of dollars over current expenditures and years of incredibly hard work to draw even with the competition. Teacher retention is just the starting point.