Missouri's average teacher salary lower than officials thought

Missouri teacher salaries are among the lowest in the United States and have been for longer than state officials realized.

In an annual report released Thursday by the National Education Association, Missouri's average teacher salary ranked 44th in the nation, a drop of nine steps from last year's ranking of 35th. However, officials with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education discovered Tuesday that they'd reported incorrect data to NEA in past reports.

This year's data and the ranking of 44th are correct, but officials say Missouri never should have been ranked 35th.

"Basically, we thought we were better off than we were," said Jim Morris, director of public information with DESE. "It's disappointing, because I think our view was that we'd been making a little progress over the past 10 years."

Morris said that in past years, DESE had reported total average salary, which includes extra duty pay, instead of regular average salary, the base pay that teachers receive and all other states reported to NEA. The total salary figures showed a higher average than the amount Missouri teachers truly receive in comparison with other states.

"When we think about trying to make teaching financially competitive with other professions at a time when demands are rising, finding ourselves at 44th is not encouraging," Morris said.

On the day the report was released, Missouri's NEA chapter released a statement criticizing the teacher salary ranking. Carol Schmook with MNEA said her organization's position has not changed since the discovery of the incorrect data.

"It's still shameful that we're 44th in the nation," Schmook said. "And the fact is, we've been lower for longer than anyone realized."

The state's average teacher salary actually has risen since 2001, the year the faulty data was based on. From 2001 to 2003, the state's average regular teacher salary went from $35,325 to $37,641. Local school districts saw similar rises.

In Cape Girardeau, the average teacher salary rose 11 percent, from $30,338 in 2001 to $33,605 in 2003. That's because the Cape Girardeau schools made a three-year promise in 1999 to increase the system's base teacher salary by $1,000 per year to catch up with other districts.

In Jackson, salaries increased 3 percent, from $34,711 to $35,928 during that period. Scott City teacher salaries rose 5 percent, from $32,468 to $34,208.

Even though no decrease is salaries occurred locally, school officials say the state ranking is a problem.

"That number should be an indicator that we're not keeping pace," said Jackson superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson. "It goes hand in hand with the availability of funds for education. It's troublesome to me."

The NEA report, titled "Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2003 and Estimates of School Statistics 2003," looks at education data ranging from student expenditures and school revenue to student/teacher ratios.

Schmook pointed out that most neighboring states, including Tennessee, Kentucky, Iowa, Arkansas and Kansas, all rank above Missouri.

"This just reinforces the fact that we're not doing what we should be doing for teachers' salaries in Missouri," Schmook said.

Only seven states have average teacher salaries lower than Missouri's. The lowest in the country is in South Dakota, where the average teacher makes $32,416 annually. California maintains the highest average salary at $56,283 per year.

cclark@semissourian.com

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