Pay Teachers A Market Wage | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Dr. Terry Stoops, who is director of research and education studies for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    RALEIGH     In an interview published on the Capital and Main website, former U.S. Labor Secretary and University of California at Berkeley public policy professor Robert Reich opined that, despite the importance of their jobs, teachers are underpaid compared to supposedly less important professionals. He pointed out that investment bankers and Wall Street traders make thousands, millions, and even billions more than teachers. "The law of supply and demand in terms of wages is not repealed at the doors of our school houses," Reich declared.

    Some have tried mightily to ignore the law of supply and demand in terms of educator wages. But those "deniers" are not fat-cat privatizers warring against public education, as Reich suggests. Instead, teacher unions advance policies, including experience- and credential-based salary scales, designed to promote fairness, rather than market-based wages. After all, supply and demand matter little when union-friendly policies ensure uniform pay regardless of teachers' aptitude or training.

    One need not be a public policy professor to demonstrate ignorance about the teacher labor market. For example, a recent Salisbury Post editorial contended that state legislators should boost teacher pay because starting salaries for educators are low compared to computer programmers, engineers, accountants, and registered nurses. Ironically, newspaper reporters did not make their list.

    Computer programmers, engineers, accountants, registered nurses, as well as other professions requiring college graduates to complete rigorous and specialized training programs, enjoy higher starting salaries than teachers. According to Michigan State University's 2014-15 Collegiate Employment Research Institute survey, the average annual starting salaries for computer programmers and engineers exceed $50,000. Accountants and nurses can expect average salaries of over $43,000 a year.

    In comparison, the annual base salary for a classroom teacher will increase to $35,000 next year. Some urban and suburban districts will offer even higher starting salaries when local supplements and extra duty pay are included.

    Should all beginning teachers in North Carolina make as much as a recent engineering graduate or a junior analyst on Wall Street? High starting wages in these professions reflect the fact that demand for competent engineers and account analysts often far outweighs supply. The same cannot be said for certain educators.

    The National Council on Teacher Quality examined the most recent state and federal data to compare the supply and demand for elementary school teachers. The council found that in 2013 the United States produced 30,000 more elementary school teachers than were needed to fill all vacancies.

    Despite increasing demand in North Carolina, colleges and universities in the state oversupplied the teacher labor market with elementary school teachers. Additionally, college graduates from dozens of other states seek teaching positions in North Carolina because demand for jobs in their states is weak.

    On the other hand, it makes sense to pay teachers trained in other disciplines a wage that is comparable to their private-sector counterparts. The U.S. Department of Education report, "Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Listing 1990-1991 through 2015-2016," indicates that the meager supply and strong demand for math, science, and special education teachers has been a persistent weakness in North Carolina for the last 25 years. This formula - identical pay despite strong demand and meager supply - is one of many impediments to improving the quality of our public schools.

    This problem is not limited to public elementary and secondary schools. The law of supply and demand in terms of wages also is repealed at the doors of our colleges and universities. Reich's annual salary at UC-Berkeley is approximately a quarter of a million dollars, or $180,000 higher than the average public school teacher in California. It is a startling amount, considering that the supply of bloviating liberal college professors far exceeds demand.