Report: New Orleans, the 7th worst city for teacher pay
8th February 2021 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
A recent report from Hire a Helper ranked New Orleans as the 7th worst large metro area for public teacher pay and Louisiana as the 14th worst state for public teacher pay.
The researchers calculated median annual earnings for teachers with an adjustment for cost of living in their respective cities and states. The adjustment took into account how far a certain salary will get you in a certain location. The New Orleans-Metairie area’s median unadjusted pay was $49,673 and adjusted pay was $53,355 (44th out of 50 large metro areas). The highest ranking metro area was Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., with unadjusted pay of $89,559 and adjusted pay of $83,466. The second-highest ranking metro area was Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, with unadjusted pay of $70,417 and adjusted pay of $78,328.
Out of 88 mid-size metro areas included in the report, Lafayette ranked 63rd, Baton Rouge ranked 68th, and Shreveport-Bossier City ranked 44th. Among 187 small cities, Hammond ranked 159th, Alexandria ranked 153rd, and Lake Charles ranked 133rd.
The report listed the adjusted median pay for Louisiana as $55,623 a year, compared to the national median pay of $60,335. The best state for teacher pay is Rhode Island ($76,877) and the worst state for teacher pay is Arizona ($47,606).
Taslin Alfonzo, a spokesperson for NOLA Public Schools, said teacher pay in New Orleans is managed by each individual charter management organization instead of by a central public schools system.
“NOLA Public Schools continuously strives to ensure our teachers are supported, recognized, and compensated for the amazing work they do. The district is always seeking ways to advocate for more dollars to support our schools citywide in order to support teaching and learning in robust ways,” said Alfonzo. “Our community of schools strongly advocate for competitive teacher pay and look for ways to provide increases based upon available resources within our system.”
Larry Carter, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, is glad the report is bringing attention to the teacher pay issue in New Orleans and Louisiana as a whole.
“For too long, education has not received adequate funding at the state level,” Carter said.
That funding does not just cover teacher pay, but student resources as well. Carter added that improving teacher pay is critical in luring qualified educators to Louisiana and keeping them here.
“If we want to attract the best and the brightest, pay should be appropriate for the type of degrees teachers have,” Carter said. He said the pay bump for advanced degrees is minimal in Louisiana.
Louisiana State Superintendent Cade Brumley agreed with Carter’s opinion that teachers with advanced degrees or specialized certifications should receive better compensation.
“Throughout my career as a system leader I’ve always championed competitive teacher pay. Our educators are valued professionals and they should be compensated accordingly. I feel this could include differentiated compensation models that offer additional pay for teaching at a high need school, holding a high demand certification or assuming additional responsibilities such as teacher leadership,” Brumley said.
Carter said teacher pay and education funding is often tied to the tax base of a particular area. The Hire a Helper report agreed with this assessment.
“For instance, many school districts are funded heavily based on local property tax collections, so areas with greater wealth and higher tax rates tend to have more resources available to compensate teachers well,” stated the report.
The report noted that teacher pay has mostly failed to improve across the board. It stated that the average teacher in 2019 made $61,730, which is nearly identical to the average inflation-adjusted salary earned by teachers in 1989. The median teacher makes $2,000 less than the median bachelor’s degree holder and 60 percent of the salary of the median professional degree holder.
“Despite stagnant wages, the teaching profession has in many ways become more difficult over time, with increasing class sizes, more testing and accountability requirements, and underfunding of support staff like counselors and social workers in schools,” stated the report.
Carter said many teachers in Louisiana have to work second and third jobs just to make ends meet, even in rural areas with a lower cost of living than places like New Orleans. He said public school teachers often have to pay for their own supplies and their own students’ needs. He estimated teachers spend about $1,100-$1,200 a year on simple supplies like paper and pencils for students.
When asked what could be done to change things for teachers in Louisiana, Carter said people must continue to draw attention to teacher pay and keep discussing the issue so lawmakers don’t forget about it. He said incremental raises are needed on a yearly basis to catch Louisiana up to other states.
“Teachers are in front of the most important people in our society – our children,” Carter said.
The report can be read online at www.hireahelper.com/lifestyle/best-paying-cities-for-teachers.
Requests for comment from InspireNOLA Charter Schools, Einstein Charter Schools and Ben Franklin High School were not returned as of press time.
This article originally published in the February 8, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
