HD19 - Preliminary Report on Public School Teacher Compensation


Executive Summary:
BACKGROUND

The 1987 Virginia General Assembly amended the Code of Virginia by adding section 22.1-289.1 to Article 1 of Chapter 15 of Title 22.1, which required the Department of Personnel and Training to conduct a review of the compensation of teachers and other occupations requiring similar education and training. The review is to be conducted biennially, with results reported by June 1, 1989. A preliminary report is to be prepared by December 15, 1987. The legislation specified that ... "It is a goal of the Commonwealth that its public school teachers be compensated at a rate that is competitive in order to attract and keep competent teachers."

Three major elements are needed to conduct a review of teacher compensation to meet the requirements of the legislation:

* Determining competitiveness

* Identifying occupations requiring similar education and training and examining salary data for these occupations

* Examining turnover and recruitment

Each of these elements are discussed in more detail in following sections of this report. The first section of this report presents a summary of the survey results.

I. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

* The 86-87 Virginia public school teacher entry level salary average for a bachelor's degree teacher is $16,836. (See Appendix 7 for more detailed salary information of Virginia's school teachers.)

* The weighted average entry level salary of jobs in the private and other government sectors which require similar education and experience as that of teachers is $18,534. This average is obtained through weighting the survey data by the number of teachers in different subject areas such as math, accounting, history, biology, English, and elementary education. (See Appendix 1 and 2 for further details.) This figure is 10.1% above the entry level salary average of bachelor's degree teachers in Virginia ($16,836).

* Private and other government sector salary data is based on the salaries of employees working approximately 234 days a year whereas teacher salaries represent approximately 200 work days.

* The average entry level salary of classified state employees who are in positions requiring similar education and training as a bachelor's degree teacher is $16,816. The average entry level teacher salary ($16,836) is 0.1% above the state employee average. (See Appendix 3 for further details concerning the state employee average.)

* The 1986-87 weighted average salary of all Virginia public school teachers, as reported by the Department of Education is $25,041.

* The average teacher salary for the Northern Virginia localities where the state recognizes a more competitive labor market is $30,537.

* The 1986-87 national mean salary of all teachers, as reported by the NEA, is $26,704. This figure exceeds the Virginia weighted average salary of $25,041 by $1,663 or 6.6%.

* The average 86-87 entry level salary of bachelor's degree teachers in the southeastern states is $16,771. The Virginia school teacher entry level salary average ($16,836) is 0.4% higher than this average. The weighted average salary of the southeastern states is $23,769. Virginia's weighted salary average, as reported by the Department of Education, is $25,041 which is 5.4% higher than the southeastern states average. (See Appendix 4 for further details.)

* In 1984 Virginia was ranked 30th in average salary for teachers. By 1986-87 Virginia was ranked 28th. (See Appendix 5 for further details.) **

* Average Virginia teacher salary increased approximately 10.0% each year during the three year period of 1984 to 1987 (6th highest percentage increase nationally) and by $5,797 (7th highest dollar increase nationally). (See Appendix 5 and 6 for further details)* According to Executive Compensation Services survey on Professional and Scientific Personnel, the market movement during 1984 to 1987 was approximately 5.3% each year; the CPI moved approximately 3.5% per year.

* The 1985-86 report "Survey of Teacher Contract Terminations" prepared annually by the Department of Education indicates a gross turnover rate of 4.0%. For 1986-87, a 3.2% turnover rate has been reported.

* A teacher shortage survey report by the Department of Education in September, 1987 tends to support the February 1987 report, "A Study of the Supply and Demand for Teachers," findings in the areas of most difficulty in recruiting. A significant result of the report is the finding that the most frequently given reason by teachers for leaving is "to accept another teaching position." The next most common reasons are retirement and spousal transfer. "Job offers other than teaching" is the fourth most common reason.

**Data is based on estimates for the periods indicated and is now in the process of being up-dated to include actual data.

Substantial progress has been made in raising teacher's salaries since 1984. Judgments about the status of teacher's salaries in 1987 depend on the measuring stick used. Entry level teacher's salaries trailed comparable jobs outside teaching by 10.1%, but entry level teacher's salaries essentially equal Virginia state employees salaries. The average salary paid to teachers in Virginia is 5.4% higher than the southeastern states average, but is 6.6% below the national average.

Salaries paid to teachers outside Virginia have long been used as a measuring stick for Virginia's teacher salaries. Last year the General Assembly established the goal of compensating teachers competitively based on a review of other occupations requiring similar education and training. In legislative discussions and the deliberations of the Governor's Commission on Excellence in Education, which recommended the language, attracting talented individuals to the teaching profession and keeping them there once they were teaching were often mentioned.

In order to accomplish this objective, salaries must be sufficient to attract men and women to the teaching profession who could go to the private sector or other public sector positions. The comparison of teacher's salaries with salaries of similar occupations is essential to judge how competitive the teaching profession is likely to be.

It is difficult to apply a single measure of competitiveness across a state as diversified as Virginia. Teacher's salaries are determined by individual school divisions based on local circumstances. In Northern Virginia, for example, the labor market is much more competitive than in other parts of the state. Therefore, the results of the review of teacher's salaries in Virginia, which considers the state as a whole, may not represent the condition in any individual locality.