Why is teacher pay so low in AZ? (Phoenix: private schools, university)

[Handymanjojo]

I recently moved here and have found out that the average teacher pay is $33-39k. My question is, why is teacher pay so low in Arizona? How can teachers live on that income with the cost of living? I think teachers deserve the respect of a liveable wage for all that they do to shape the future of our state.

[JGMotorsport64]

Now you’ve done it

[ringler24]

The starting teacher salary in my school is 45k

[Hal Roach]

When half the money is looted for things outside the classroom, like countless district offices, there isn't a lot left. You quoted started pay, and that is still decent. I recall an editorial in the Noglaes International, stating they had been covering the gripes about teacher pay for longer than anyone on the staff could remember, but the truth was that a reporter with a university degree only made half the salary of a teacher with the same experience.

[AZ Manager]

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-sta...cation/prek-12

They are over paid for quality of the job they do.

[RJ312]

If I were in college today, there's no way that I'd consider being a K-12 school teacher.

United States residents are having fewer kids now. The population is aging. 55+ individuals will comprise a larger percentage of the population in the coming decades.

Anything working with senior citizens will have higher demand. When a person is in college, they are preparing for ~40 years in the workplace. The 40 year outlook on K-12 teaching is poor. Especially in a place like Arizona, which draws in a ton of 55+ people.

I think part of the reason that educational outcomes are getting so bad is that potential future teachers realize that the longevity of the profession isn't all that good. This won't draw the best to the occupation.

Summers off is one of the draws of being a K-12 teacher.

[KurtAZ]

Wow...you are an educator and missed the past 2-5 years of "AZ Funding is the lowest in the country" headlines? Or are you just trying to start a vitriol thread?

[PhoenixSomeday]

Frankly, because the US doesn't give a **** about education and teachers (saying you do doesn't count - put your money where your mouth is). Paying people millions of dollars to run around with a ball on TV or to sing something someone else wrote, or to spend a few months in front of a camera for a movie is a lot more important to people than making sure the people running the country 20-30 years from now aren't stupid and know how to think. "Those people get millions because they make some other rich person a lot more than that." In the US, follow the great almighty dollar.

Also, don't private schools pay a lot more? I don't know, I haven't look into it, but I think I've seen it mentioned before. But then you have to deal with going along with jesusifying all the kids. So, tradeoffs I guess.

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by PhoenixSomeday

Frankly, because the US doesn't give a **** about education and teachers (saying you do doesn't count - put your money where your mouth is). Paying people millions of dollars to run around with a ball on TV or to sing something someone else wrote, or to spend a few months in front of a camera for a movie is a lot more important to people than making sure the people running the country 20-30 years from now aren't stupid and know how to think. "Those people get millions because they make some other rich person a lot more than that." In the US, follow the great almighty dollar.

Also, don't private schools pay a lot more? I don't know, I haven't look into it, but I think I've seen it mentioned before. But then you have to deal with going along with jesusifying all the kids. So, tradeoffs I guess.

Cuba and Venezuela are shining examples of what happens when decisions about worth are made arbitrarily by bureaucrats instead of the free market.

Anyone who is unhappy about their pay is free to find their own way to increase the value of their services. Making a career decision, and then complaining about the very expected results, is sad.

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by PhoenixSomeday

Frankly, because the US doesn't give a **** about education and teachers (saying you do doesn't count - put your money where your mouth is). Paying people millions of dollars to run around with a ball on TV or to sing something someone else wrote, or to spend a few months in front of a camera for a movie is a lot more important to people than making sure the people running the country 20-30 years from now aren't stupid and know how to think. "Those people get millions because they make some other rich person a lot more than that." In the US, follow the great almighty dollar.

Also, don't private schools pay a lot more? I don't know, I haven't look into it, but I think I've seen it mentioned before. But then you have to deal with going along with jesusifying all the kids. So, tradeoffs I guess.

Private schools mostly pay less.