Teachers
not too badly off
Tribune
Editorial
October
11, 2003
Are
teachers in
Arizona
really starving? One
might have thought
so, based on their
cries of anguish
during this year's
legislative session.
Actually, they're
not doing badly at
all, thanks to the
largest tax increase
in state history
approved by voters
in 2000.
Latest
figures from the
National Education
Association rank
Arizona
's
average teacher pay
for 2001-02 at 26th
in the nation, far
above the “worst
in the nation” we
hear so often at
budget time.
Arizona
teachers fare even
better when compared
with income levels
of other employees
in the state. It's
fair to take into
consideration
average income
levels, as well as
Arizona
's
relatively low tax
burden and cost of
living.
When
Arizona
teachers' pay is
looked at as a
percentage of per
capita personal
income in the state,
they rank 15th in
the nation — at
155 percent,
significantly above
the national average
of 147 percent.
Michael Hunter, vice
president of the
Arizona Tax Research
Association, adds
additional context
to the numbers by
pointing out that
Arizona's teachers
are among the least
experienced in the
nation — at an
average of 13.1
years — due mainly
to high demand for
new teachers because
of rapid growth.
Hunter drew that
figure from the
nation's second
largest teachers'
union, the American
Federation of
Teachers.
Despite
Arizona
's
enormous financial
challenge of
building enough
schools to keep up
with growth during
the past decade,
teachers also have
enjoyed substantial
raises throughout
that period.
According to the NEA,
between 1991 and
2002,
inflation-adjusted
salaries for all
instructional staff,
including teachers,
principals and
counselors,
increased 8.7
percent — 11th
highest in the
nation.
All of this, in our
opinion, is fine and
dandy. Teachers
perform an
exceptionally
important job in our
society, and they
deserve to make
above-average
salaries. And it's
gratifying to know,
based on teachers'
union figures, that
they indeed do.
We should keep it
that way.
And let's put to
rest the myth and
rhetoric about
Arizona
's
teachers being at
the bottom of the
heap. It just isn't
so.
