best of myshortpencil
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Let me count the ways
The real and effective compensation add-ons of teachers
From Saratoga Springs teachers’ raises more than billed
9.14.03

• 73% of teachers don’t pay the 6.2% social security tax (2003 AFT data).
• experience-based step increases
• additional college degrees
• additional college credits
• additional teacher development (training) credits
• achieving additional teaching licenses or certifications
• certification by National Board of Professional Teaching Standards
• advising clubs (used to be done as part of the job) and stipends for additional duties
• coaching sports (used to be done by volunteers)
• administering grants
• developing and grading state exams
• TRI pay (adds $7,865 to some Washington state teacher salaries) for duties they perform outside the regular classroom day, like tutoring students, meeting with parents, planning lessons and grading papers TRI pay is my personal favorite for an add-on.
• Lifetime health insurance benefits plus $800 vehicle damage reimbursement
• incentive pay
• bonuses for improving student performance
• holiday bonuses
• county pay supplements (used in N.C.)
• all-expense-paid oceanside retreats (with seminar programs)
• special stipends
• serving as a mentor or staff developer
• teaching in a subject where there is a teacher shortage
• working in a school that presents more challenges to staff than other schools in the district
• developing new skills/knowledge in non-university settings
• “volunteering” (for additional pay) to teach an “additional” class
• “volunteering” (for additional pay) to teach a “larger” class, also known as overload pay
• “volunteering” to teach summer school (paying teachers more for failing to teach their students the first time)
• longevity pay increases
• contractual cost of living increases
• increased employer contributions to health insurance (Compensation is compensation.)
• increased employer contributions to pensions (Compensation is compensation.)
• tax credits for school supply purchases
• low cost breakfasts & lunches
• free parking
• pensions exempted from state income taxes
• income tax credits just for being a teacher
• forgiveness of college loans for teaching 3 years (sometimes limited to inner-city or high poverty schools), including state & federal programs
• college tuition reduction
• subsidized teacher housing
• the purchase of HUD houses at half price (program since terminated due, in part, to teacher fraud, but apparently not in L.A.)
• teacher-only discounts on mortgages, notably through LATMAP
• $500 monthly teacher-only mortgage payment assistance
• teacher-only discounts by retailers
• reimbursement for licensed daycare services
• compensation for summer workshops and workshops on non-teaching days
• life insurance
• sabbaticals
• maternity leave for more than a year
• lower tuition rates or free tuition for their out-of-district children
• reimbursement for college courses
• cashing in unused personal days and sick leave
• using sick leave to skip your final year of work at full salary
• declining health insurance coverage (often when covered by a spouse’s policy)
• early retirement incentives, which are offered because we pay teachers so much we can’t afford to keep them
• And, I almost forgot, retire, collect your pension, and go back to the same job at the top of the salary scale! and possibly earn a second school pension!

It looks like the list of options for a new car! And it’s all intentionally and politically done to create a public perception that teachers are underpaid even though teachers’ pay on an hourly basis tops many professions. Indeed, S-G teachers earn an average total compensation of $117,000 a year for highly secure, intrinsically rewarding jobs in smaller classes. The goal is to make teacher salaries look as small as possible to create leverage for increasing teacher salaries and contributions for the Democratic Party even though High Teacher Pay Doesn’t Result in High Achievement.