Professional pay means teachers stay!
By Pete Vala
Money matters, yet when conversations about teachers, school counselors, school nurses and the multitude of other certificated staff working in our state’s school buildings reaches the public, the reality that money makes a difference is rarely discussed. In fact, the subject is often buried as if to reflect a sort of embarrassment or shame in stating for school employees what is true about almost all other professions: money matters. That is why the NJEA has for decades been educating its members and the communities they serve about the importance of competitive starting salaries that create salary structures to attract and retain the best and brightest college prospects into the teaching profession.
The goal of a $60K starting salary is the latest iteration of a salary campaign that began in late 1990s. To date New Jersey has 77 school districts that have reached this benchmark and two, Riverside (Burlington County) and Westfield (Union County), that have crossed over the $70K mark. For certificated staff in those districts the economic burdens of living in New Jersey are just a little easier.
The importance of celebrating our success in reaching this goal cannot be overstated. As more districts negotiate a $60K starting salary the pressure on surrounding districts to match them increases. This “pattern of bargaining” is what starting salary campaigns are intended to create, an atmosphere of competition between districts. More importantly, by negotiating strong starting salaries local associations have been able to improve salaries across the board for all members.
Local negotiating teams are now well educated on the importance of a competitive starting salary. It has become ingrained into their bargaining DNA. That understanding was not always clear, and our members paid the price as their salary increases stagnated.
By the fall of 1998, NJEA staff assigned to assist local associations negotiate higher settlements and construct salary guides noticed an alarming trend: the average salary of employees in these districts was not keeping pace with the settlements the locals had previously negotiated.
A workgroup of NJEA staff and local leaders was convened and charged with determining the cause of this phenomenon and developing strategies to reverse the trend. After two years of exhaustive study, the workgroup determined that the way locals had been developing salary guides was the root cause of lagging average salary growth.
They workgroup also developed a series of remedies to help turn the situation around. A list of salary guide best practices was developed and adopted by the NJEA Representative Assembly in March of 2001. The list, titled “Best Practices for Salary Guide Development,” became the centerpiece of negotiations training workshops across the state, educating local leaders on how the decisions made when constructing salary guides impacted the growth of average salary in their locals. The first best practice focuses on starting salaries, stating that “Starting salaries should be increased by the same amount as maximums and never decreased.”
This concept, relatively obvious to anyone currently bargaining salaries, was somewhat revolutionary at the time of its introduction. Boards of education regularly argued that existing starting salary was adequate, and in many cases too high. In the early to mid-1990s it was not uncommon for starting salaries to be frozen or lowered in order to secure a deal. A new strategy was needed to combat this trend, leading to the birth of the of the a starting-salary campaign, “$40K the First Day!”
Local negotiating teams all over the state created a new bargaining pattern by focusing on starting salaries. Pushing for a $40K starting salary soon became a need for boards of education wishing to remain competitive in the hiring market. By March of 2006 four hundred districts had negotiated a starting salary exceeding $40K and three had negotiated a starting salary of at least $50K. By 2008 it was apparent number of districts successfully reaching the $40K benchmark required a pivot to a new “$50K Right Away” campaign. By 2011 local associations were retaining more than 70% of their previously negotiated settlement in their average salary, allowing them to negotiate higher dollar increases for all members.
After two decades of education and hard work NJEA local affiliates are continuing to push salary boundaries. Over 200 contracts now contain certificated staff salary guides where the $60k benchmark is within reach, with 74 having successfully negotiated a $60K starting salary.
Compensation is a primary concern of all our members, especially during contract negotiations. Let us not accept the stigma associated with teacher pay. The attitude established within our local associations and at the bargaining table when we declare that “We are Worth It!” makes it clear to all involved: money matters.
Pete Vala is an associate director in the NJEA Division of Research and Economic Services. He can be reached at pvala@njea.org.
Best Practices for Salary Guide Development
- Starting salaries should be increased by the same amount as maximums and never be decreased.
- Increments should be paid without devaluing steps or adding steps.
- Increments should be uniform throughout the guide.
- There should be as many training/educational columns as possible with uniform differentials.
- Employees should reach maximum as quickly as possible.
Adopted by the NJEA Delegate Assembly, March 2001.
Number of districts at $60K
By county
There are currently 74 school districts in New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree starting salary at or above $60,000 for those on a teacher’s salary guide. Listed below are the number of such districts in each county, noting as well how many districts are contained in the county.
Atlantic: 4 of 24
Bergen: 3 of 76
Burlington: 4 of 41
Camden: 2 of 38
Cape May: 2 of 17
Cumberland: 4 of 15
Essex: 2 of 23
Gloucester: 1 of 28
Hudson: 2 of 13
Hunterdon: 1 of 27
Mercer: 2 of 11
Middlesex: 1 of 25
Monmouth: 10 of 53
Morris: 6 of 40
Ocean: 4 of 29
Passaic: 4 of 41
Salem: 2 of 14
Somerset: 7 of 19
Sussex: 4 of 26
Union: 7 of 23
Warren: 2 of 24