3 posts tagged “finance”

MAEP, the basic funding formula for K-12 education in Mississippi, was fully funded today.  Key quote: This is the first time lawmakers have fully funded MAEP, a complex formula that provides money to schools to meet midlevel performance goals, outside of a statewide election year. The program was put into state law in the 1990s.

Per Pupil Spending of Public Schools in the U.S.

Over the next few days I'll be examining the various reasons why people leave the teaching profession.  The first, and most important, reason is one of economic incentives.

For a college graduate, K-12 education offers one of the lowest starting salaries and one of the lowest ceilings for potential future earnings. The best lawyer in Mississippi can expect to make millions of dollars a year.  Same with the best doctor, the best engineer, the best real estate agent, and the best investment banker.  The worst in each of these professions will not be able to make a living and forced out of the profession altogether.

The best teacher in the state of Mississippi, with a PhD and Board Certified, can expect to top out around $65,000.  The worst teacher in Mississippi, with a bachelors and 20 years, will earn around $55,000.  Low pay is the greatest problem in attracting talented young people to the profession of teaching.  Low ceiling is the greatest problem with keeping good teachers in the classroom. Many talented teachers leave the classroom to go into consulting, non-profits, higher ed, textbook writing, motivational speaking, and program management. Or they leave the education field altogether (those who leave to become princicpals, supts, etc will be the topic of a future post).

When it comes to education, you get what you pay for.  Low salaries and low standards for teacher licensure mean an abundance of low-quality teachers.  Until the issue of teacher pay is solved, nothing else will change.  By solved, I don’t mean a $5,000 bonus for teaching in a critical-needs area, or assistance with housing.  I mean a fundamental shift in teacher pay.  This would encompass four things:

1)    Raising taxes.
2)    An equal distribution of tax revenue to school districts.  No longer should property taxes be the basis for a districts annual budget.  This only leads to poor school districts being punished and rich ones rewarded because of land value.  All property tax should be collected, nationwide, and then redistributed equally.  This leads to my next point...
3)    Nationalizing public education with a national curriculum and national standards.  Education is far too important to leave up to the individual states and school districts.
4)    Doubling the starting salary of teachers nationwide to $60,000 a year (expensive urban areas would start at $80,000 but no starting teacher would make less than $60,000).  $20,000 additional for teaching in a “critical-needs” district.  The top end of the pay scale increases to $200,000.  This would end the nationwide teacher shortage, create competition for all positions, and offer a strong incentive for good teachers to go to high-need schools.

Further Reading: