HOW ALABAMA'S PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER COMPENSATION COMPARES

Teacher compensation is the largest and most important component of public school expenditures. Like other southeastern states, Alabama in the past has paid teacher salaries that were well below the national average. This low-salary policy began to change in recent years, however, with teachers receiving substantial raises in 1994-95 (8.5%), 1996-97 (4%), and 1998-99 (8.5%). Since 1994, the average teacher salary in Alabama has risen by more than $7,000, or 25 percent, climbing from 41st to 29th in the state rankings compiled by the National Education Association (NEA). Consideration is now being given to a policy of paying Alabama’s teachers at the national average salary. This report looks at how public school teacher compensation in Alabama compares with other states.

 

The State Salary Matrix and Local Salary Schedules

    Public school teachers in Alabama are paid according to local salary schedules that provide increasing compensation for additional levels of education and years of service. The Legislature created a state salary matrix in 1995 and updates it each year in the education appropriations act. The state salary matrix for Fiscal 1999-2000 is shown in Table 1, below. Each local school system is required by law to adopt a salary schedule that provides at least 100 percent of the applicable amounts from the statewide salary matrix. As the table shows, the state salary matrix is based on a standard state contract length of 182 days, which includes 175 days of school and 7 days of teacher preparation and professional development time.

 

TABLE 1. Alabama State Teacher Salary Matrix, Fiscal 1999-2000

Years

of

Bachelor's

Master's

6-Year

Doctoral

Non-

Experience

Degree

Degree

Degree

Degree

Degree

0-2

$ 28,394

$ 32,652

$ 35,208

$ 37,764

$ 28,394

3-5

31,233

35,917

38,728

41,539

31,233

6-8

31,659

36,408

39,257

42,106

31,659

9-11

32,084

36,897

39,785

42,672

32,084

12-14

32,510

37,386

40,313

43,239

32,510

15-17

32,937

37,877

40,841

43,805

32,937

18-20

33,362

38,366

41,369

44,372

33,362

21 +

33,788

38,857

41,897

44,938

33,788

Contract Days

182

182

182

182

182

The state foundation program provides funding for teacher units based on the state salary matrix. Some school systems pay more than the minimum, particularly for experienced and highly educated teachers. These systems are required to use their own local tax dollars to pay the amounts that exceed the state salary matrix. Table 2, below, compares the state salary matrix with salary schedules in two school systems, for teachers with a master's degree. The Greene County System pays at the state salary matrix level and employs teachers on a 182-day contract. The Homewood City System, on the other hand, pays substantially more for experienced teachers with master's degrees, and it employs teachers for 187 days.

Homewood teachers with master's degrees and twelve years' experience earn over $4,000, or eleven percent, more than their counterparts in Greene County; by the time they have accumulated 21 years of experience, they earn about $5,600 (fifteen percent) more. But teachers in Homewood also work five more days than their counterparts in Greene County. The right side of Table 2 shows a comparison based on daily rates of pay. By this measure, the salary of a Homewood teacher is twelve percent higher than that of a Greene County teacher (and the state salary matrix) at 21 years of experience.

 

TABLE 2. Master's Degree Salary Comparisons

Annual Salary

Daily Rate of Pay

Years

State

Greene

Homewood

State

Greene

Homewood

of

Salary

County

City

Salary

County

City

Experience

Matrix

System

System

Matrix

System

System

0

$ 32,652

$ 32,652

$ 33,560

$ 179

$ 179

$ 179

3

35,917

35,917

36,850

197

197

197

6

36,408

36,408

37,947

200

200

203

9

36,897

36,897

39,592

203

203

212

12

37,386

37,386

41,566

205

205

222

15

37,877

37,877

43,211

208

208

231

18

38,366

38,366

43,211

211

211

231

21

38,857

38,857

44,527

214

214

238

Contract Days

182

182

187

---

---

---

 

Local school systems that pay more than the minimum are required to maintain the differential between their salary schedule and the state salary matrix whenever statewide pay raises are granted; that is, they must provide the entire percentage increase to all teachers. Or, to put it another way: once a school system begins to pay above the state-mandated minimum level in any of the cells of its salary schedule, then the level at which it pays (rather than the state salary matrix) becomes the base figure for that system.

Furthermore, if the local system hires teachers for more than 182 contract days, these state mandates apply to the daily rate of pay. Thus, since the Homewood City System hires teachers for 187 days, its minimum beginning salary for a teacher with a master's degree must be at least $33,549 ($32,652 X 187 / 182 = $33,549). As Table 2 shows, Homewood and Greene County pay the same $179-per-day starting salary for teachers with master's degrees, even though the Homewood teacher’s annual salary is about $900 higher. In effect, the state salary matrix is implemented on a daily rate of pay rather than in terms of annual compensation.

Benchmarks for Teacher Compensation Comparisons

 

The recent report of the Alabama Task Force on Teaching and Student Achievement declared that:

Adequate teacher compensation is a fundamental ingredient in improving teaching and learning. Teaching is a profession that requires great knowledge and skill. Teacher compensation should attract those with the potential to teach well and reward those who develop the attributes necessary for increasing student learning. Therefore, it is important to look at the following factors:

In looking at the attractiveness of salaries, it is important to consider not only gross compensation, but also such factors as the employee's cost of fringe benefit programs, the cost of living in the community, and the general level of income in the community. On the following pages, we have looked at each of these perspectives in order to provide the kind of complete description that policy makers should have in setting teacher compensation.

We also have looked at the average teacher salary, which is a composite figure that substitutes for lack of detailed salary progression data. Teachers are compensated on the basis of salary schedules that provide additional pay for increases in experience and educational attainment. The average salary is affected not only by the salary schedules involved, but also by the average experience and educational levels of teachers. This can distort the real differences in compensation. If Alabama’s school systems used salary schedules equivalent to those in other states but employed younger teachers, or a lower percentage of teachers with master’s degrees, the state’s average teacher salary would be lower simply because of these teacher characteristics. On the other hand, if Alabama's teachers were more experienced, or more highly educated, its average salary would be higher for that reason alone. These kinds of differences do exist, as indicated by the following specific examples:

Teachers in Alaska are not paid less today than they were in 1997, for any given level of education and experience; but the average, based in all likelihood on falling levels of experience and education, suggests that they are. In the same way, a salary-increase plan that will stretch over several years creates an incentive for teachers to delay retirement in order to increase final average compensation. This kind of behavior would increase the average teacher salary artificially for a few years, and then reduce it when those who delayed retirement decided to step down.

Nevertheless, average salary data are readily available, and they have become an important indicator of relative compensation because of the lack of detailed information on salary progression. Since the available data do not compare what teachers with specific educational credentials are paid at benchmark points in their careers, the less-specific average figure is used as a substitute. The examples cited above suggest that caution is warranted in using the average salary as a benchmark figure. In its annual teacher salary study, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) produces a table that adjusts state average teacher salaries based on the beginning teacher salary and average teacher experience. Unfortunately, the average experience data (which come from an NCES survey) are not collected every year. Average teacher salary comparisons would be more meaningful if they were published along with annual data on beginning teacher salaries, average education levels, and average experience levels of teachers.

Finally, it is important to consider the professional conditions under which teachers must practice. These include the teacher-student ratio, the length of the school year, and the investment in professional development programs, technology, and other forms of instructional support. These factors are a form of "compensation" for the teaching professional because they contribute to the success of the teaching mission. How Alabama compares in these areas is important to the success of our teacher compensation plan. These factors are addressed in the final section of the report.

 

Salaries for Beginning Teachers

 

Beginning teachers in Alabama are well compensated in comparison with their peers in other states. AFT data for fiscal year 1997-98, which are the most recent available, are shown in Table 3. The national average beginning teacher salary in that year was $25,735. Alabama's average, $27,388, was six percent and $1,653 higher than the national average, ranking ninth among all states. It also was the highest in the southeast, exceeding the Georgia average by $682. Every other southeastern state was below the national average.

The Alabama figure is even farther above the average beginning teacher salary paid by the average state. The national average shown in Table 3 represents the salary paid to the average teacher. This average is affected by the fact that the more populous states have more teachers and tend to pay higher salaries. This is why the national average is relatively high in the distribution shown in the table. The simple average of all states’ beginning teacher salaries for 1997-98 was $24,733, which represents the amount paid by the average state. Alabama’s average beginning salary was ten percent and $2,655 higher than that figure.

TABLE 3. Beginning Teacher Salary, 1997-98

 

State

Average

Beginning

Salary

1997-98

Amount

Above or

Below

U.S. Average

 

Percent of

National

Average

 

Rank

Alaska

$ 33,162

$ 7,427

129%

1

New York

30,204

4,469

117%

2

Pennsylvania

29,581

3,846

115%

3

Connecticut

29,506

3,771

115%

4

Nevada

28,641

2,906

111%

5

New Jersey

28,319

2,584

110%

6

Illinois

28,183

2,448

110%

7

California

27,852

2,117

108%

8

Alabama

27,388

1,653

106%

9

Massachusetts

27,238

1,503

106%

10

District of Columbia

27,234

1,499

106%

11

Michigan

27,064

1,329

105%

12

Maryland

27,010

1,275

105%

13

Hawaii

26,744

1,009

104%

14

Georgia

26,706

971

104%

15

Rhode Island

26,300

565

102%

16

Minnesota

26,266

531

102%

17

Oregon

26,098

363

101%

18

U.S. Average

25,735

-

100%

---

Delaware

25,493

(242)

99%

19

Virginia

25,272

(463)

98%

20

Florida

25,266

(469)

98%

21

Vermont

25,183

(552)

98%

22

Arizona

24,917

(818)

97%

23

Colorado

24,867

(868)

97%

24

Texas

24,736

(999)

96%

25

Indiana

24,716

(1,019)

96%

26

Missouri

24,125

(1,610)

94%

27

Wisconsin

24,077

(1,658)

94%

28

New Hampshire

23,927

(1,808)

93%

29

Washington

23,860

(1,875)

93%

30

Oklahoma

23,676

(2,059)

92%

31

Kentucky

23,536

(2,199)

91%

32

South Carolina

23,427

(2,308)

91%

33

New Mexico

23,297

(2,438)

91%

34

Louisiana

22,843

(2,892)

89%

35

Ohio

22,535

(3,200)

88%

36

West Virginia

22,529

(3,206)

88%

37

Iowa

22,475

(3,260)

87%

38

Kansas

22,445

(3,290)

87%

39

Utah

22,241

(3,494)

86%

40

Wyoming

22,230

(3,505)

86%

41

North Carolina

22,150

(3,585)

86%

42

Tennessee

22,140

(3,595)

86%

43

Nebraska

21,949

(3,786)

85%

44

Maine

21,554

(4,181)

84%

45

Montana

21,045

(4,690)

82%

46

Arkansas

21,000

(4,735)

82%

47

Mississippi

20,630

(5,105)

80%

48

South Dakota

20,340

(5,395)

79%

49

Idaho

20,246

(5,489)

79%

50

North Dakota

19,146

(6,589)

74%

51

Source: American Federation of Teachers,"Survey and Analysis of Teacher Salary Trends, 1998"


Salary Progression

Alabama’s beginning teacher salaries are very attractive in comparison with those paid in other states. How well is this attractiveness maintained throughout a teaching career?

Teacher turnover is one measure of attractiveness. Table 4, below, shows the number and percent of Alabama teacher units in each cell of the state salary matrix. These teacher units include professional personnel who are teachers, counselors, librarians, principals, and assistant principals in the public schools.

The rows of the table show teacher experience levels in the three-year increments of the salary schedule. The two points in the salary matrix where the number of teachers drops noticeably are at the third level (6-8 years of experience) and the fifth level (12-14 years). This suggests that Alabama begins to lose large numbers of teachers after about six years, and then again after about twelve years of experience.

The columns of the table show the educational levels of teacher units. At the lowest experience level, 24 percent of teachers have advanced degrees, and the percentage rises with experience. At the third level of the salary matrix (6-8 years), when it appears that large numbers of teachers begin to drop out, the percent of teachers with advanced degrees is more than twice as high as at the first level (54 versus 24 percent).

This suggests that most of those who leave have not progressed beyond the bachelor’s degree – and that those who begin to work on advanced degrees at the outset of their careers are more likely to stay in the teaching profession. It also suggests that a key attraction of the state’s salary schedule is the fifteen percent increase it provides those who improve their professional capabilities by obtaining a master’s degree. This attractive feature can be bolstered by additional rewards based on specific achievements, such as the $5,000 salary increase and $5,000 grant for classroom materials that Alabama now offers teachers who achieve certification from the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards.

 

TABLE 4. Number and Percent of Alabama Teacher Units by Experience and Degree, 1999-2000

Pct. With

Advanced

Degree

Experience

in Years

Bachelor's

Master's

6-Year

Doctoral

Non-Degree

Total

Number of Teacher Units (Full-Time-Equivalent), 1999-2000

0,1,2

5,335

1,624

34

21

116

7,131

24%

3,4,5

4,370

2,566

63

13

50

7,062

37%

6,7,8

2,619

3,005

131

17

40

5,811

54%

9,10,11

1,942

3,086

243

23

20

5,314

63%

12,13,14

1,362

2,426

235

36

12

4,071

66%

15,16,17

1,081

2,427

301

40

14

3,862

72%

18,19,20

1,266

2,865

403

53

6

4,593

72%

21+

3,026

9,387

2,414

284

12

15,123

80%

Totals

21,001

27,385

3,824

487

270

52,967

Experience

in Years

Bachelor's

Master's

6-Year

Doctoral

Non-Degree

Total

Percent of Teacher Units, 1999-2000

0,1,2

10.07%

3.07%

0.06%

0.04%

0.22%

13.46%

3,4,5

8.25%

4.84%

0.12%

0.02%

0.09%

13.33%

6,7,8

4.94%

5.67%

0.25%

0.03%

0.08%

10.97%

9,10,11

3.67%

5.83%

0.46%

0.04%

0.04%

10.03%

12,13,14

2.57%

4.58%

0.44%

0.07%

0.02%

7.69%

15,16,17

2.04%

4.58%

0.57%

0.08%

0.03%

7.29%

18,19,20

2.39%

5.41%

0.76%

0.10%

0.01%

8.67%

21+

5.71%

17.72%

4.56%

0.54%

0.02%

28.55%

Totals

39.65%

51.70%

7.22%

0.92%

0.51%

100.00%

Source: Alabama State Department of Education; PARCA calculations.

To compare salary progression for teachers in the various states, we must have data from teacher salary schedules. According to the Education Commission of the States, 23 states have statewide teacher salary schedules. Normally the statewide salary schedule creates a minimum that local school systems are permitted to supplement. While some of these statewide schedules, like Alabama's, provide a meaningful basis for describing teacher salaries in the state, in other cases salary schedules are so low and supplemented so much by local school systems that any comparisons based on the schedule alone would not be valid.

There are no comparative data that would describe salary progression accurately in states that do not have meaningful statewide salary schedules. For this reason, most teacher salary comparisons rely on average teacher salaries, despite the fact that this gives an incomplete picture of salary progression throughout a teaching career.

Generally, the meaningful state salary schedules are found in southeastern states, where the state share of school funding is high. To provide a sense of how teacher salary progression in Alabama compares, we have analyzed statewide salary schedules for Alabama and four neighboring states that have meaningful state salary schedules. The results are shown in Table 5, at the top of the next page.

We have assumed that a teacher begins in each state with a bachelor's degree, obtains a master's degree at the end of the tenth year of service, and then obtains a 6-year (educational specialist) degree at the end of the twentieth year of service. The resulting salaries over a 30-year career -- calculated on both an annual and a daily basis -- are shown in the table. At the bottom, we have shown the 30-year average salary for each state. We also have shown the present value of the 30 years of income to a beginning teacher. This figure takes into account the time-value of the money a prospective teacher will earn in each of the states compared. Among the significant findings from this analysis are the following:

 

 

TABLE 5. Comparison of Current Teacher Salary Schedules for Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina

Annual Salary in State Salary Schedules

Daily Salary in State Salary Schedules

Year of

Service

Academic

Degree

Alabama

Georgia

Mississippi

North

Carolina

South

Carolina

Alabama

Georgia

Mississippi

N. Car.

S. Car.

(182 Days)

(190 Days)

(185 Days)

(200 Days)

(190 Days)

1

Bachelor's

$ 28,394

$ 26,328

$ 23,040

$ 24,050

$ 23,312

$ 156

$ 139

$ 125

$ 120

$ 123

2

Bachelor's

28,394

26,328

23,475

24,470

23,824

156

139

127

122

125

3

Bachelor's

28,394

26,328

23,910

24,900

24,478

156

139

129

125

129

4

Bachelor's

31,233

27,118

24,345

26,680

25,106

172

143

132

133

132

5

Bachelor's

31,233

27,932

24,780

28,240

25,760

172

147

134

141

136

6

Bachelor's

31,233

28,770

25,215

29,510

26,388

172

151

136

148

139

7

Bachelor's

31,659

29,921

25,650

30,520

27,041

174

157

139

153

142

8

Bachelor's

31,659

30,819

26,085

30,990

27,670

174

162

141

155

146

9

Bachelor's

31,659

32,206

26,520

31,470

28,324

174

170

143

157

149

10

Bachelor's

32,084

33,172

26,955

31,960

28,953

176

175

146

160

152

11

Master's

36,897

38,146

29,390

34,825

33,685

203

201

159

174

177

12

Master's

36,897

39,290

29,920

35,350

34,384

203

207

162

177

181

13

Master's

37,386

39,290

30,450

35,885

35,084

205

207

165

179

185

14

Master's

37,386

40,469

30,980

36,441

35,784

205

213

167

182

188

15

Master's

37,386

40,469

31,510

37,017

36,483

205

213

170

185

192

16

Master's

37,877

41,683

32,040

37,778

37,182

208

219

173

189

196

17

Master's

37,877

41,683

32,570

38,367

37,881

208

219

176

192

199

18

Master's

37,877

42,933

33,100

38,976

38,581

208

226

179

195

203

19

Master's

38,366

42,933

33,630

39,585

38,966

211

226

182

198

205

20

Master's

38,366

44,221

34,160

40,214

39,357

211