Saturday, May 18, 2013

High teacher salaries: The price of public school education : News ...

Find out why some teachers are paid close to six figures

Anyone who enters the education sector as a teacher is not in the fast lane to get rich quick.? However there are teachers in most school systems in Southwest Georgia who earn upwards of $75,000, $85,000, or $100,000 a year.? Fox 31 spoke to a few superintendents to take a closer look inside the breakdown of high teacher salaries in a special report.

Public school teacher salaries are regulated by the state of Georgia on a strict scale.? A teacher with a bachelor?s degree with zero to two years of teaching experience will earn $34,940 a year. ?While the vast majority of teachers in Southwest Georgia earn a good salary, Fox 31 News found 50 teachers in Southwest Georgia who made more than $75,000 a year during the 2011-2012 school year.?

Cook County?s Superintendent Lance Heard says level of education and years of experience are two of the biggest factors when it comes to a teacher?s base salary.? ?If someone obtains a master's or a specialist or a PhD then on the state salary scale they automatically make more money, so that?s probably the most common way to make more money is to obtain a higher degree.? Secondly the more years they have in the higher they are on the salary scale. ?So most teachers who are making higher amounts of money have in the most years and have the most advanced degrees? says Heard.

Another way public school teachers can boost their salary is to get involved in extracurricular activities.? When it comes to clubs and sports,?Dougherty County Schools?Interim Superintendent Dr. David Mosely says the local school boards determine any and all financial supplements.? ?We have the option to go above and beyond.? The state sets the minimum salary and then local systems have the option to supplement that salary in order to attract the brightest and best hopefully to come work in your district? says Mosely.

Dr. David Mosely adds that regardless of which extracurricular activity a teacher participates in, nothing compares to the sports supplements.? The largest supplements belong to the football and basketball coaches.? ?In the football hotbed in South Georgia, the sky's the limit with football coaches if you've checked around. They are well paid, but the good ones produce and deserve every penny they get? says Mosely.? Cook County?s Superintendent Lance Heard agrees saying sports coaches often put in anywhere from 15-30 extra hours a week with practices, weight lifting, games, off season practice, watching videos, developing game strategies, and more.? ?I can only speak for our school system deserves what they're paid. ?The people who make that extra money are putting in a lot of extra time and a lot of extra hours and have a tremendous amount of responsibility and stress that comes with that extra time and extra duties so I think our people who are making the higher salaries deserve it? says Heard.

When you partner years of experience, multiple degrees, and supplements from extracurricular activities or sports; that is why some teachers make so much more than the average.? On the flip side of the coin there are plenty of teachers both superintendents say they wish they could pay more.? ?We have teachers that do an excellent job and have great test scores, and are probably worth more than we can pay them, but we are pretty much bound by that scale unless they take on extra duties? says Heard.? ?I wish we had an opportunity to do merit pay, because we have some young folks particularly that are just killing it in terms of productivity and doing a wonderful job and they don't get rewarded for their efforts? says Mosely.

Both superintendents acknowledge their school systems couldn?t function without the teachers who take on the extra responsibilities of advisors, directors, and coaches; and that?s why these superintendents say the price of public education is worth it.?

Stay connected to MySouthWestGA.com as stories develop and the FOX 31 Newscast at 10 PM. Visit us on?Facebook?and?Twitter?to join in?on the conversation and connect with FOX 31!

Source: http://www.mysouthwestga.com/news/story.aspx?id=898865

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