All area school districts fall below state’s $47K average teacher salary

Teachers don’t do it for the money.

“Public educators, in general, are servant leaders – they are prepping our youth for the future,” said Chance Wistrom, superintendent at the Republic R-3 School District.

In reality, however, teacher salaries are a competitive business. The range in southwest Missouri is wide and can mean the difference between innovative forward thinkers and those less motivated.

“Teachers are also people – they have lives and families and bills and they want to be compensated for their efforts,” Wistrom said. “Starting salaries are critical in attracting those new teachers.”

According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the average regular term salary for Missouri teachers is $47,410. No district in southwest Missouri hits that mark. Nixa Public Schools comes closest at $46,796, followed by Springfield Public Schools, at $46,283.

The average skews high due to affluent districts in St. Louis and Kansas City. The St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, for example, has an average regular term salary of $69,322, according to DESE.

Wistrom’s Republic comes in at $44,857.

“Salary is an attractant, but culture is even more important when talking about teacher retention,” he said, noting the district also provides benefits such as paid health insurance. “Teachers want to know the district is committed to supporting them.”

In Springfield, the state’s largest district by student enrollment has taken that support to the next level, revamping its teacher induction program, among other things.

“For years and years we did a three-day training ending two days before school started, and it was basically shooting a fire hose of information at them,” said Mike Dawson, the district’s chief learning officer. “Now, we take the whole summer. It’s a 90-day experience, and the teachers are much more confident.”

With roughly 17,000 certified professionals at SPS, Dawson said the R-12 district has a 10-12 percent turnover rate, bringing on about 200 new teachers a year.

“We’ve made it a focus to boost that base salary to fill those positions,” he said, noting the district condensed its salary schedule structure to better reflect its workforce. “Salaries are evaluated at SPS though a collective bargaining process, but I feel they are very competitive for southwest Missouri.”

When salary comprises 80 percent of the district’s budget – such as at Ozark R-6 – finding the balance between happy teachers and a healthy checkbook is key.

“We want to be competitive to get the best,” said Superintendent Kevin Patterson, noting school officials try not to compare too much to neighboring schools, such as Nixa. “We also know our limits, and I think that’s a good thing.”

With 15 steps in the salary scale for teachers without a master’s degree and 28 steps above a master’s, Patterson said the scale encourages professional development, with earning an advanced degree  being part of the Ozark culture.

“Our goal is to make sure all teachers get that step up on the salary schedule,” he said. “We were competitive at the start, but not as much for those master’s degree teachers. So we have stepped it up so they can step up.”

While teacher salaries are trending up, the National Education Association contends teachers still aren’t paid a living wage, also receiving salaries far below fields that require similar training. According to a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the teaching profession has an average national starting salary of $30,377. However, other college graduates who enter fields demanding the same level of education start at higher salaries: computer programmers at $43,635, certified public accountants at $44,668 and registered nurses at $45,570.

“It’s still about perception,” Dawson said of the nationwide lower pay scale. “Teaching as a profession is looked at as low-end, white collar work.

“There needs to be a transition in our society before these teachers are valued as the professionals they are.”

Low salary rates are due in part to underfunding at the state level, with legislators slashing budgets and never fully funding the education formula. Wistrom said added mandates just pile on the load.

“The mantra used to be when you add it all up teachers only worked nine months a year, but that’s just not true anymore,” he said. “Every mandate is another demand on the teachers’ time – time they aren’t compensated for.”