Tennessean Posts Metro Schools Salary Database

[NashVegas]

http://data.tennessean.com/DB/dbc/schoolsalaries.php

Interesting to note there are people in IT, who don't even have BA's, making 50% more than teachers with MAs or PhDs and 20 years service. I know one of those ITs, who's actually pretty freaking sharp and will have that BA in two weeks. I know another of the ITs making some ridiculous figure, fairly sharp but no Einstein.

And you want to know why our kids isn't learning? Why would anyone with 1/2 a brain pay out $30k-$80k in tuition, in order to make $50k a year after 11 years' service, when you can just get your Microsoft cert. and make $90k managing a database?

[southerncrone]

1. You don't know the 1/2 of it.

I teach in a rural county & we have as our "top tech guy" someone who was originally a maintenance worker who "thought computers were cool"; he was a Special Ed student in high school. The school system pays for him to take some computer classes at the local TN Technology Center & he is in charge of ALL of our tech in the county. He makes more than any teacher with a PhD & 30+ yrs experience. BTW, our network is a disaster......go figure. THIS is a prime example of what is wrong with education; directors making decisions about areas with which they have no expertise. They simply put warm bodies in vacant holes, disregarding needed skills, education & judgment ability. This "spoils system" type of playing politics is a huge reason we don't get good results.

You will be seeing a mass exodus of teachers when the economy improves, if salaries are not increased. We deal with way too much BS from all sides now. It is just not worth it. Our safety is a prime issue, too. You can only abuse employees for so long. NCLB has caused much of the increase in Admin positions because of all the data gathering required. Gathering data does not educate kids....teachers do. The increase in paperwork & tracking almost every time a kid farts has sucked not only the joy, but the funds, out of education.

Most of the teachers I know, or work with are intelligent individuals who really enjoy helping kids learn. Problem is, we don't have a system that supports our efforts. We are educating IN SPITE of the system, instead of BECAUSE of it.

We are the last champions for kids, who have no voice in what happens to them. 98% of them can't vote yet. There in lies the loss of political power. But the biggest problem is it is a female-dominated profession & it's still acceptable to underpay women in our society.

(BTW, I WISH I made $50,000 w/my Masters & 7 yrs experience, not to mention many years of experience in my industry b/4 teaching.)

[NashVegas]

2. Ouch

One trend worth noting on that list, too, is that the people making the highest incomes, as teachers, all seem to be elementary teachers who keep the same gig for 30 years. You have to think HS teachers have a higher burnout factor.