Yes we love our public school teachers – but can we afford them? Is teacher pay related to academic performance? What to do?

drcameronjackson@gmail.com

Does high pay for public school teachers translate into better educated students? Nope.

Here are two examples:

1) Wisconsin teachers have been in the news as Wisconsin pays the highest wages in that part of the United States. Info below about Wisconsin shows pay of teachers is not related to academic performance of students.

2) Mountain View-Los Altos (MVLA) teachers are the highest paid in California. MVLA students do perform substantially higher than the average for California. However, none of the MVLA schools receive top ratings based on STAR ratings.

So, from the taxpayers perspective, if teacher pay cannot be shown to relate to student academic performance — what changes need to be made?

Hypothetically, let’s assume that every California teacher in MVLA is a superb teacher. [ I personally know one superb, dedicated, highly trained MVLA high school teacher. Further, I have worked with many superb California public school teachers over a 10+ period.]

If all California MVLA teachers are suburb, is that excellence in teaching visible via school ratings? One way to rate schools is to look at STAR test results.

The STAR testing for 2010 shows that Mountain View High School for English Language Arts obtained a score of 75% compared to 45% for the state average. The High School Summative Math for 2010 for Mountain View High School is 98% compared to a score of 76% for the state. Frankly, the STAR numbers have always bemused me because they are not standardized scores. But for sure, the numbers show that Mountain View High School in the MVLA school district performs much better than the California state average.

A web site called schooldigger.com lists all the California schools in order of ranking using STAR test results. None of the schools in the MVLA school district made the top ten according to digger.com For example, Lowell High in San Francisco got the #10 rating (out of 600+) and Monte Vista High in Fremont Union High school district got a #2 rating. Pacifica Collegiate Charter, located in Santa Cruz, CA got the #3 place

Back to the original question: Why are MVLA teachers paid the highest in the state of California?

My guess is: location, location, location. The Mountain View-Los Altos school district is located in Silicon Valley known worldwide for computer and high tech companies. Silicon Valley real estate is very valuable and that value translates into millions of dollars available to pay public schools.

Back to California: The first day that Jerry Brown was on the job as governor in California he replaced 6-7 persons on the board that permits charter schools. Charter schools in California are competition for the public school system. Gov. Brown wants to gut charter schools which means kill competition for the public schools. Why kill competition? Money from the teacher unions goes into the Democratic Party which supported his candidacy.

California Silicon Valley high schools – from Palo Alto south to San Jose — graduate plenty of smart, able to compete anywhere students. Is it because of excellence in teaching or is it because of the home life and general environment wherein these high school students live?

My guess is that nature (genetics) and nurture (family environment) account for more than 75 to 80 percent of why Silicon Valley students excel. And, yes, there are many excellent, dedicated teachers who do a superb job. So let’s say that all factors contribute. But is the pay (plus benefits, health care and retirement costs) that teachers receive worth to the public the overall results that obtain? That is a question many people are raising.

They may be great teachers but can the public afford them?

From my perspective, the time has come to scale back the influence of the teachers unions. Teacher pay must be tied directly to academic performance. Poor teachers must be identified and let go. The tenure system should go. The tenure system hurts those who are beginning and those who want to move elsewhere.

In my view the public school system is broken and major changes must occur. What say you? What changes do you suggest?
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Below are some resources:
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“According to data released by the state Department of Education this month and compiled by the Sacramento Bee, teachers in the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District are the highest paid in the state.“We have the best teachers in the state and they deserve to be paid well,” said Superintendent Barry Groves.
The Bee’s report, which examined districts with more than 100 teachers, said MVLA pays an average of $95,365 a year, with the lowest earning $61,184 and the highest $115,616.“We value our beginning teachers,” Groves said in regards to the starting salary, adding that they are an “investment.”
He said one reason for the high pay scale is that the district attracts and retains experienced teachers.

According to 2008-09 data from Ed Data, a collaborative Web site that analyzes data provided by the state, MVLA teachers averaged 11.2 years of teaching experience and 9.3 years with the district. Twenty-three of the district’s 193 teachers, or about 12 percent, were first or second year teachers.
But when compared to county and state figures, it appears that in terms of teacher experience and longevity with a district, MVLA is only comparable, rather than noticeably higher.
Joe White, associate superintendent of business, said another factor is the cost of living in the area.
“When you put a blanket across the state or various parts of Northern California it makes it look like, ‘Wow there’s a huge difference,'” White said. “But there’s a huge cost of living here.” He added that many employees, including himself, commute from other areas to work in the district.
For Superintendent Groves, the chief issue was teacher quality.
“I believe that MVLA has a cadre of professional, highly qualified teachers in every academic discipline,” Groves wrote in an e-mail. “As we have high standards for achieving tenure in our district, we believe that our teaching staff is second to none. Our students and their families profit by this incredible group of professionals.”

According to the state data, teachers in the Mountain View Whisman School District make an average of $61,147 annually. The lowest pay offered in that district is $44,609, while the highest is $82,315.
In the Los Altos School District, teachers earn between $44,832 and $86,924, with an average salary of $73,569.
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Palo Alto Unified School District
2009-2010
Teachers’ Salary Schedule
Step BA 15 30 45 60 75 90
1 51422 51422 51422 52586 55025 57355 59510
2 51422 51422 53649 56347 58969 61401 63599
3 51422 53738 56902 59796 62595 65113 67398
4 52768 56484 59850 62962 65941 68551 70935
5 55025 59015 62636 65886 69051 71762 74245
6 57083 61359 65203 68636 71988 74781 77313
7 59057 63559 68409 71580 74753 77924 81092
8 60934 65613 70779 73947 77116 80289 83464
9 62734 67628 73149 76317 79492 82661 85830
10 62734 67628 75516 78689 81860 85027 88202
11 62734 67628 75516 78689 84307 87543 90568
12 62734 67628 75516 78689 84307 87543 90568
CI-1 62734 67628 77882 81055 86673 89909 92934
CI-2 62734 67628 80248 83421 89039 92275 95300
CI-3 62734 67628 82614 85787 91045 94641 97666
CI-4 62734 67628 82614 85787 94490 97726 100751
CI-5 62734 67628 82614 85787 94490 97726 103836
Career Increments
13, 16, 20 2,366
25, 30 3,085
Masters Degree 1,982
2nd Masters Degree 1,982
Doctoral Degree 1,982
NBPTS / CCC 2,571
Approved November 17, 2009
Download a copy of the Teacher Salary Schedule ( 90KB ).

Questions surface over LASD teacher salaries and benefits
Written by Traci Newell – Staff Writer/tracin@latc.com
TUESDAY, 15 MARCH 2011

The Los Altos School District is preparing to ask for an additional $193 parcel tax in May, prompting some residents to question district teachers’ salary and benefits packages.
The average teacher salary in the district is $73,569, third highest among the 20 elementary school districts in Santa Clara County. Local salaries run higher because the majority of teachers in the Los Altos School District have been teaching here for a long time, thus earning seniority, said Randy Kenyon, assistant superintendent for business services.
The average starting salary for district teachers, $44,832, ranks 14th in the county, and the average for teachers in the district for 10 years, $69,334, ranks 13th.
Not all district teachers receive lifetime health-care benefits, an allegation recently lodged by attendees at several public-comment sessions at school board meetings. Teachers hired after 1989 do not receive any health benefits after retiring from the district.
Kenyon said that providing lifetime health benefits for teachers used to be standard practice, particularly when health insurance was more affordable. By the late 1980s, however, district officials conducted a study and determined they couldn’t absorb the cost of extended health insurance for employees.
The district continues to pay for benefits for those teachers hired before 1989, an estimated 180 of whom are retired and 40 current employees scheduled to receive coverage upon retirement.
The district spent approximately $1 million to cover health-insurance costs for its retired employees in the 2010-2011 budget. Over the next 30-40 years, Kenyon said projections (which include hikes in insurance costs) indicate the district would spend $19.3 million, until the benefits expire.
The structure of Los Altos School District teachers’ health-benefits packages differs slightly from the neighboring Cupertino Union School District. Teachers in the Los Altos district pay 5 percent of their packages, while Cupertino teachers pay 30 percent of their benefits.
Given the economic climate, Los Altos teachers have made concessions over the past few years. Last year teachers agreed to take three furlough days, a reduction of approximately $1,200, or 1.6 percent, in their salaries. Teachers have not had an across-the-board salary increase since the 2007-2008 school year, when compensation was upped 1 percent.
In addition to monetary concessions, teachers have assumed additional duties during the economic downturn. Since the 2008-2009 school year, the district has lost 13.51 full-time-equivalent teaching positions, with the remaining teachers assuming the workload.
As the district readies to issue approximately 50 pink slips this week (story on Page 1), teachers are preparing to further accommodate the budgetary limitations.
“Overall, the teachers always feel the need to help out when teachers’ jobs are at stake,” said Jim Grijalva, president of the Los Altos Teacher’s Association. “We are all in this together.”
The Los Altos Teacher’s Association bargaining unit met with school district officials Friday, reopening negotiations on the 2011-2012 budget – which was already agreed upon last spring.
In the meantime, local teachers are working on the parcel-tax campaign, hoping to relieve the district’s ongoing revenue woes.
Kenyon said the financial situation the district faces – a $4.5 million cut – isn’t because of teachers’ salaries and benefits.
“It’s about huge funding cuts,” he said.
Concessions from the teaching staff may represent only one piece of the deficit puzzle. While the district awaits word on passage of the May parcel tax, which requires a two-thirds majority and would supply an additional $2.3 million annually, supporters are pleading with local legislators to help place Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax extension on the June ballot. If voters pass a tax extension, which requires only a simple majority, the district stands to receive $1.5 million.
The fourteen remaining teachers who qualify for life time health benefits have not been paying into Medicare like the teachers hired after 1986. Therefore, they will not likely qualify for Medicare. These senior teachers have earned their benefit and the district may not change these benefits according to law. The total cost of teacher salary and benefits is lower today than it was in 08-09, even with the increase in health premiums.
As Randy Kenyon has stated, public schools in this state have a revenue problem. Every other problem faced by public schools pale by comparison.
Concessions by school district employees can help, but will not solve these revenue problems. The employees through their hard work, dedication and commitment to a quality education deserve a fair compensation package. Any notion that the employees are over compensated for their work is not a reality. The health benefits are good, but nine districts in our county still pay their teachers more.