Teachers, preachers deserve executive-level pay

The people who take care of our minds and our spirits, we pay the least in this culture.

We do not bat an eye about doling out $60 per hour to repair an air conditioner, leaky faucet or automatic garage door opener. We might drop $80 for a meal on a Saturday night (which your body will process and quickly forget in less than 12 hours). And $150 for four people (including food and drink) to watch a baseball game at Hammons Field on a warm July night is, in our opinion, one of the last “deals” in Southwest Missouri.

But when we find out the beginning salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree in the Springfield R-12 School District is $29,227 … our sanity will hit the fan.

Have you heard, “Who do these glorified baby sitters think they are fooling asking for that kind of money?”

And, what about those people we expect to feed our souls from a pulpit, perform life-changing ceremonies such as weddings and funerals and be there in the middle of the night when a police officer delivers unbelievably bad news? Why are the salary and benefits of a clergyperson who is available to us 24/7 such a point of contention and conflict in our faith communities?

I am wondering, out loud, if we nonverbally demean the nurturing of both our minds and spirits when we pinch pennies with these professions. As I move through corporate America, I keep hearing, “This nation is doing a horrible job of educating our children. I cannot find people to fill positions who can spell, use the English language correctly or add up a list of five, triple-digit numbers.”

Then, the conversation will normally slide into, “And, I wish I could find someone with values. … The lying that I have to put up with is unbelievable. … Whatever happened to ethics at work?”

If you have not figured it out … our children are listening to these comments.

These kids know when their teachers have to use their own money to provide crayons and colored construction paper because the budget for education has been cut again. Our children hear our caustic conversations about how “overpaid” the pastor must be to afford that new Chevrolet Impala or take a vacation to Disney World.

I am convinced that those who feed our minds and our spirits are not a priority. In spite of the rhetoric every four years in this nation, both education and spirituality get the leftovers in this society.

So what would be different if we did value our minds and spirits?

First, I am suggesting that all beginning teachers in our school systems be required to have not only a bachelor’s degree but, within five years, also earn a master’s degree. This additional requirement would be rewarded with a salary scale commensurate with the beginning compensation for someone in the legal, information technology or accounting fields.

Why not? Is the training of our children any less important than the right words in the deed for a house, the installation of Microsoft XP or knowing how to compute the tax implications for a 401(k)?

Second, I think clergy should be paid salaries and benefits that match what a chief operating officer of a company the size of their congregations would make. Clergy should be paid like business executives and then held to the same accountabilities. Those accountabilities should include conducting annual reviews from congregational leadership and the “consumers” (parishioners), maintaining a fiscally healthy congregation and keeping regular involvement in the community.

At the end of our lives, I believe we sift all of our days down to two questions, “What did I learn, and did I use that information to make a difference in another person’s life?”

I do not know about you, but I think the people we pay the least are those who coach us to answer those questions.

Cal LeMon of Executive Enrichment Inc. solves organizational problems with customized training and consulting.