Low teacher salary gets a lot of media coverage, but there is another factor at play in the education world that has detrimental consequences. Barriers to entry, exit, and movement between teaching jobs is not only bad for teachers, but it’s also hurting your kids’ education.
In Colorado, as well as California, Texas, and a dozen other states, public school teachers don’t pay into Social Security but state-based pension plans instead (PERA in Colorado). Although teacher salary is generally lower than careers requiring commensurate education and skills, the pension plans for retired teachers are comparatively generous. In other words, a teacher can expect to earn less during his career than in the private sector but will enjoy greater income in retirement than someone dependent on Social Security.
This delayed compensation creates a strong incentive for a teacher to stay in the teaching field once they are established. Why is this a problem? It keeps bitter teachers in classrooms and energetic would-be-teachers away from the job.
The compensation structure that causes these mobility issues:
Teacher pay is based on two things; the total amount of educational credits collected, and years of teaching experience. For example, the new teacher with only a bachelors degree gets paid the least. The old teacher with three masters degrees or a Ph.D. gets paid the most.
In the short term, your pay sucks. In the long term, you get paid pretty well, and if you stick around long enough, (25-30 years or more) a solid pension will be yours for the rest of your life. It is nice to know that if you manage to survive a career as a political pawn, a scapegoat for all society’s problems, an entertainer to the apathetic, and suppressor of youthful energy, you will be able to relax with a sizeable retirement check.
But what happens when 15 or 20 years into it you realize that you hate kids, are tired of parental and administrative pressure to inflate grades, or are just ready for a change of pace? If you leave the teaching field you will only get a small fraction of your retirement benefits. That generous pension you were promised is only for those who survive an entire career. You don’t get to credit the years teaching towards Social Security either. All those years of service mean nothing to the Social Security Administration! You haven’t paid them a dime and you will be starting from scratch when it comes to retirement.
This delayed compensation structure creates strong incentives to stay in the teaching field long after you are burnt out from the high-stress job. “Just five more years!” or “Just ten more years!” are the mantras you will hear in the teacher’s lounge of your local public school.
On the other side of the equation, a knowledgable professional who may have incredible skills to share with your kid is unlikely to try teaching because of the financial disincentives and barriers to entry. In most cases, districts won’t credit any of her professional experience towards her teaching license or level of salary. For example, the experienced 40-year-old lawyer or accountant would be paid the same as the 22-year-old kid fresh from college. (After she spends a year getting licensed, that is.) This, of course, keeps many would-be-teachers from even testing out the field.
Not only is mobility in and out of teaching difficult, but even within the teaching field, a teacher will face significant costs when switching districts. In most fields when you decide to change companies you are able to negotiate a salary based on your experience and abilities. However, when changing school districts, the new district can only give you credit for a certain number of years experience and may not accept all your education earned. In other words, you will move to the left and top of that handy dandy salary schedule shown above.
For example, Let’s say a teacher worked for Denver Public Schools for 15 years but wanted to change districts. Maybe she feels mistreated, maybe another position would be a better fit, or maybe she just wanted to teach in an area where she could afford to buy a home. The neighboring district where she wants to work may give her credit for only 5 years of teaching and ignore the fact that she worked summers on that second master’s degree. If she were to take the new job she would likely take a salary hit of $10,000 or more/year. The new district would end up paying her significantly less than they would pay somebody already in the district, even if the in-district hire is significantly less qualified. The results of these policies are that our mistreated teacher stays in the school and district she hates and the less ideal candidate takes the job in the other school.
Many teachers find the perfect fit for their talents and are able to motivate and inspire generations of students. Unfortunately, for many others, the golden anchor of a distant retirement keeps them trapped in a job they can barely tolerate. The detriment to their finances would be too great to change districts or careers.
Your kids lose because they end up with a teacher who hates his job (and your kids), while the people who want to teach your kids are stuck in another school or find the barrier to enter the educational field is too great to risk making the move.
Here are some sources for your in-depth reading pleasure:
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-0547.htm
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2018/10/07/why-does-social-security-leave-out-teachers-in-the.aspx.
Mandy Connell says
Great column, I’d love to have you on my radio show to talk about it. Email me at mandy@koanewsradio.com if you’re interested!
Kate says
Up From Pension Slavery!