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Readington Salary Comparison Attracting teaching talent to Readington schools depends in part on salaries that compare favorably to other districts. By the same token, payroll makes up a huge part of the annual budget, and there is little money to spare. As we make strides in improving the working and learning atmosphere in Readington schools, we must also consider financial incentives. How does Readington stack up against neighboring and comparable districts? Let's take a look at the data. (Source: December 2005 NJEA Review.) Salaries for Elementary Districts with Bachelor Degree
From this table of selected elementary districts it is easy to see that Readington has some serious competition for new teachers. There are certainly many other elementary districts not shown here with lower starting salaries, but the selected districts are most comparable and located in the same general geographic region. Another point that stands out is the number of steps on the salary guide. The more steps, the longer it takes to earn the bigger salaries located higher on the scale. Statewide it is not unusual to find elementary districts with only 11 or 12 steps on their salary guide. Even in the table above, Readington is at the upper end of the scale with 20 steps. There is also a dirty little secret that doesn't show in the data typically used for comparison. While the teachers bargaining team and the school administration may agree in good faith on a salary guide, what happens in a district after the fact may undermine the agreement. In Readington, as in other districts, there are teachers who were hired only on the condition that they agree to enter the salary guide on a step that is lower than to what their experience would otherwise entitle them. In other words, a teacher with five years experience might be paid as if he or she had only three years. The legality of this tactic is questionable at best and if nothing else it certainly goes against the spirit of the collective bargaining agreement. Just as important, the tactic can later backfire as teachers underpaid for their experience jump to other districts where they are paid according to their real work history. An investment in a young teacher who becomes a master teacher is wiped out due to a shortsighted penny-pinching move. Departing teachers from Readington and other districts have specifically mentioned this issue as a reason for leaving. If we take a look at the data for the same districts shown above for teachers with Masters degree, we find the following: Salaries for Elementary Districts with Masters Degree
In this table, Readington moves down a notch when compared against other starting salaries with a Masters degree. Readington's maximum salary compares favorably, but, again, there are twenty steps to that maximum against only fourteen in other districts. There is also nearly four thousand dollars difference between Readington's starting salary and that of the highest paying district. So, what does all this mean? Clearly Readington is not overpaying teachers when compared against neighboring elementary school districts. In fact, when compared against K-12 districts, the picture becomes more dismal. K-12 districts tend to pay more than elementary districts statewide. It is also pretty clear that, given non-financial incentives to leave the district there would be little reason for a teacher to stay in Readington. That fact could help explain the very high turnover rate of previous years. What would be interesting to know, and what is not officially published, is the number of teachers who are paid lower on the scale than they actually are due. Many of those known to be a victim of this dirty little secret have already left the district. In the next round of budget analysis and in the next round of collective bargaining it will be important to keep these tables in mind in order to maximize our ability to attract and keep our teaching talent. It should also be a priority to fix the dirty little secret of salary scale shenanigans so that we keep some of the teachers who have subsidized our budget at their own expense. |
