Teacher Pay Is a Problem: Lawmakers face pressure to raise salaries, fully support pensions and restore education funding to pre-recession levels.

• Author: Exstrom, Michelle
• Position: EDUCATION

Teachers are unhappy. And they are letting their legislators know it. In a handful of states--Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and West Virginia--teachers have walked out of their classrooms to proclaim their impatience with low wages and a lack of classroom resources. Legislatures are the target of teachers' frustration because lawmakers provide funding for education and some determine statewide teacher salaries.

Teachers have received raises, but most of the increases since 2001 have been allocated to benefits to meet the rising cost of health care. One study found that in 30 states, a teacher with 10 years of experience who supported a family of four would qualify for several forms of government assistance. Researchers also found that teachers with a graduate degree and 10 years of experience, for example, make less than a trucker in Colorado or a flight attendant in Georgia. In fact, in no state are teachers paid more than other college graduates.

Responding to recent teacher protests, West Virginia lawmakers eventually agreed to increase salaries by 5 percent. Oklahoma lawmakers increased teachers' annual pay by $6.100, though the teachers had hoped for a significant increase in total education spending. And, in May, Arizona lawmakers gave striking teachers a 20 percent pay increase over three years, ending a six-day walkout.

The U.S. experiences a roughly 8 percent teacher turnover rate annually, according to the Learning Policy Institute. That's about twice the rate of other high-performing education systems worldwide. Nearly 90 percent of those vacating their positions say they plan to leave the field for good. Another 8 percent of the workforce leaves for other positions, making the overall turnover rate closer to 16 percent. Although most leave because of difficult working conditions and lack of administrative support, about 20 percent leave because of low pay.

South Dakota once had the nation's lowest teacher pay (ranked 51st), but in 2016, lawmakers passed House Bill 1182 to increase the sales tax by a half cent, with the funds dedicated to raising teacher salaries and improving working conditions. This came as a recommendation from the Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding. The state has since raised teacher pay by 11.8 percent over last year, and is now ranked 48th in the country.

Other states are considering measures to attract and retain teachers, as nearly every state is facing teacher shortages in math and special education...