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From KaufmanCountyOnline.com Education The first questions prospective teachers usually ask recruiters from Scurry-Rosser is “What’s your starting pay?”
Usually teachers who go to lower paying districts have a particular reason – they went to school there, they have family in the area or they want their family to grow up in the county. Teacher salaries become more of an issue each year as budgets tighten and districts struggle to find qualified teachers, particularly in math, science, special education and bilingual education. Spanish teachers also are difficult to come by. The districts work each year to increase the salaries, Forney and Terrell in particular say they must compete with the larger and higher paying surrounding districts. The highest starting salary in North Texas is more than $45,000. Forney and Terrell are the only districts that have set their 2008-09 salary schedules. Other districts said they will wait until they complete their budgets in August. Starting pay likely will go up 4 percent or less. Even though the salaries haven’t been set, teachers know they will get last year’s salary and the state-mandated raise, usually just a few hundred dollars. Anything greater is a bonus, Mr. French said. Terrell Superintendent Kelley Rodgers said his district raised the beginning salaries, despite budget problems, to compete with larger districts. “With the economy like it is and gas prices like they are, we hope it will attract some teachers back to us,” Mr. Rogers said. Creating competitive salaries and benefits is part of the strategic plan for improving the district. Over the last several years the district has increase salaries for long-term teachers, hoping to keep them in the district. The gap between the highest and lowest paying districts evens out over the years. The average salary among Kaufman County districts ranges from $40,156 to $44,026, according to the Texas Education Agency. Still, the average salary in all Kaufman County districts is below the state average of $44,897. The differences also flatten out for many districts the longer the teachers stay. The gap between the highest and lowest for first year teachers, for example, is $12,000. By the sixth year pay ranges from about $35,000 to $45,000. And by the 25th year, all the districts pay $50,000 or more. Kaufman Superintendent Todd Williams, along with other superintendents, said he focuses on making the district attractive in ways other than the pay. “You can do it in other ways than financially. You can do it with morale – if they know you are going to support them and the like where they are working, that’s attractive,” Mr. Williams said. The district also has quite a few teachers who attended Kaufman schools. “They are affectionately called the Lions Pride,” he said. The comparatively low pay leads to other problems. The turnover rate in all the districts is well above the state average, 15.6 percent. County districts range from a low of 18.4 percent in Forney to 26 percent in Terrell. Mr. French said that is inevitable based on salaries and national statistics that so many teachers leave by their fifth year. “We train teachers and help them get certified then they leave in two years. That is a constant battle,” he said. Superintendents said they will try to keep teacher salaries up but that gets harder and harder. Budgets are trapped between a ceiling on property taxes (unless they hold a tax election) and steady or falling money from the state. “I’d like teachers to start at $50,000,” Mr. French said, “and I still think that would be underpaid.” © Copyright 2005-2007 by Kaufman County Online |
