“For the first time in history, the average annual compensation for a teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools system will exceed $100,000″ in 2011.
In light of Paul’s comments, which were made during the heat of the nationally watched Wisconsin budget debate, we decided to take a closer look at MacIver’s claim. It has resurfaced in the budget debate in comments on websites such as the Huffington Post and TheNation.com.
In announcing the $100,000 figure, the institute produced a video that included brief clips of an MPS administrator reciting salary and fringe benefit numbers during a school board meeting the previous day. The average total compensation figure for teachers exceeded $100,000. We asked MacIver spokesman Brian Farley if he had any additional evidence. He cited a February 2011 posting from the School Zone blog on JSOnline.com, which reported slightly different numbers than those in MacIver’s video.
The posting quoted MPS’ budget manager as saying that in 2011-2012 (the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2011), the average MPS teacher would receive total compensation of $101,091 — $59,500 in salary and $41,591 in benefits.
We double-checked with MPS spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin and she confirmed the figures. The conservative think tank said the average annual compensation for a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher would exceed $100,000 in 2011. As of July 1, 2011, according to the school district, that figure will be $101,091.
MacIver’s claim is True
And if you don’t think benefits are a part of your salary, try being self employed.
Having kids in school now myself, You need to remember, these days, teachers have to buy a lot of the classroom supplies with their own money. School districts are supplying less and less. Also the supplies parents have to provide keep growing each year. We now have to buy tissues for the class, what’s next toilet paper? So yeah the teachers should be making 100,000 a year. Also remember you get what you pay for.
Also that’s 59,000 in pay, the rest is in benefits. So the 100,000 figure is misleading. $59,000 pay for teaching is nothing. Why don’t we scrutinize what company ceo’s make in pay and benefits? You wanna talk about making way too much money, go there. Why are we picking on the lowly paid teachers for christ sake??!!
Having gone through the MPS system through 8th grade myself, I can only respond the following:
WTF?! They get paid HOW much?! Holy SHIT, they’re overpaid!
But those benefits aren’t liquidable assets or are they?
I thought conservatives were trying to convince us that people who made $250k+ per year (salary alone) could barely make ends meet when tax increases were proposed for them. Now they want to portray $59k per year teachers as living like a Rockefeller?
#1 I think some teachers have to buy tires and gas for the school buses too. What are those supply lists sent home with every child for since the teachers are buying the supplies?
#2 Company CEO pay has nothing to do with teacher pay. News Flash: life is not fair. Do you really think Miley earns her pay?
You say “$59,000 pay for teaching is nothing.”, what would you suggest? The only reason they get what they do is due to union strong arm tactics and crocodile tears “for the children”.
#6 should be “Do you really think Miley Cyrus earns her pay.?”
If you look at the salary that a teacher is paid, by most standards it’s a modest amount. The outrageous cost of medical insurance is what drives these figures up. If being a schoolteacher is such a lucrative profession there wouldn’t be a shortage of qualified teachers as there is in many school districts. It’s a tough job that requires real skill and effort to do it well. Sadly, it isn’t done well at all here in California . I think the entrance requirement-knowing how to print your name and address-and the high school graduation requirement are one and the same. I can’t help but think our approach to education went off the rails a long time ago.
#2 – it’s not misleading to the taxpayers of Milwaukee who must pay $100K each year to employ a teacher.
Are they including the administrators’ pay or just the teachers. Here is where I would cut pay: administrators and sports coaches. Sports coaches and administrators often have six figure salaries.
The teachers are probably paid a reasonable rate in the mid forties plus benefits. I am betting the football coach makes $150k or more and drives up the average.
Actually the teachers would get paid much more if they were paid a babysitters wage to watch the kids.
And if you want to pay teachers minimum wages, then you get the society you pay for. Without good teachers we could end up like the middle east.
It should be illegal for any person receiving a paycheck from the government to unionize. Extorting a private company for money is one thing. Extorting tax payers is what the government SHOULD be protecting us FROM.
At least we aren’t paying them $95,000 a year plus $5,000 in benefits! That would be outrageous!
“$59,000 pay for teaching is nothing.”
It’s outstanding pay when you can retire after 30 years with a fat pension and free health care. Start teaching at 22, retire at 52, all expenses paid. Sweet! Too bad there no money left to pay it.
“And if you want to pay teachers minimum wages, then you get the society you pay for.”
We pay more for education than any other country, yet the achievement scores are dismal. If our public school students were the best in the world I’d say it was money well spent.
So, what would that make the average congressional pay, if we add in the non-contributory, tax-payer paid retirement, and the non-contributory, tax-payer paid, gold plated medical plan, and the free office space, and the expense accounts, etc, etc, etc! No where else do we include benefits when quoting pay. Why here? A $59k salary, doesn’t seem like much when you deduct 15% federal income tax, 5 % state income tax, and 7.5% social security tax. Would Mr McIver care to disclose HIS salary Including benefits package?
#15, refer to #16. You get to retire with an even better retirement package if you are a representative.
How much does a state senator in Wisconsin make? what is their bene package worth and hmmm, don’t they get to retire after one term?
If it’s such a great gig, why don’t the posters here apply for it?
Seems like a comfortable enough salary. The problem is there is no market for educational services, because except for the very wealthy, your only option is to ship your kid off to the local compulsory propaganda center. If schools were private and competed for students (with vouchers or some other mechanism to provide for students from poor families), teachers’ salaries and benefits would reach a market level.
As someone who does teach, albeit adult education on a technical level. If you think a teacher is overpaid try setting up a lesson plan and teaching a subject for a day, from start to finish. Now do it for a school year. Try and control a group of self important, self indulgent, over indulged, coddled, spoiled, little monsters that most of these kids are. You know, try and teach the kids of the people that post on blogs. Then take the blame from self important, self indulgent, over indulged, coddled, spoiled, parents of said little monsters when the little fuckers fail to meet expectations. No teachers are not overpaid.
Not so fast there, Sparky!
http://politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/mar/04/rand-paul/us-sen-rand-paul-says-average-public-school-teache/
If the world were fair, teachers would make what lawyers make, and lawyers would make what teachers make.
Being fiscally conservative, I’m more than happy to pay a GOOD teacher a GOOD wage. The problem as I see it is that with the unions, the BAD teachers are also pulling in the GOOD wage. Let’s fire all the bad teachers and let them get a job at Burger King. The good teachers can then have 1/2 of the bad teacher’s salary and we will still have a cost savings!! Whooo Hoo!!
I think I learned more from Carl Sagan’s ‘Cosmos’ than high school. Why can’t we just come up with a standardized computer-based curriculum and ditch teachers altogether?
I did have one teacher who re-enacted the Trojan War on the chalkboard with stick figures. That was kinda funny.
I work fulltime for a major bank in a professional position, responsible for $M in accounts, including your checking accounts. I get paid $30,000/yr before taxes and medical ins premiums are deducted. Medical insurance that doesn’t even pay for me to visit a clinic with a common cold.
All the while, more and more “civil servants” are getting paid 6 figure salaries with great benefits.
It’s hard for me to care that my school district cannot afford to keep within their budget.
The hardest workers are paid the least. This country continues to be built on the backs of slaves.
Let’s imagine a company where virtually all the employees in a department are college graduates, with most having a 4 yr degree and some a masters. What came to my mind was the Engineering department of say, Harley Davidson.
Would the average annual TOTAL compensation for one of these employees of $100k be considered obscene, about right, or way to little?
#26 You aren’t a slave when you are getting paid for your work… You also can’t start at the top. You HAVE to work your way up, unless your Dad owns the company.
#27 Depends on the performance of the individuals… Not necessarily so with the teachers. I own a retail store. The better salesmen make more money, because they produce better results.
The teachers of Wisconsin should certainly be making one hundred thousand dollars a year.
They work hard all year long.
Therefore, they should have more days off.
June 21 to Sept 21. Minimum. The ENTIRE season of Summer. With full pay, and an extra week’s pay to compensate them for mentally preparing to return to work in the fall.
They should get the following holidays:
New Year’s Day
Chinese Lunar New Year
Valentine’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day
Tax Day
Flag Day
Memorial Day
Washington’s Birthday
Lincoln’s Birthday
Obama’s Birthday
Bill Clinton’s Birthday
Martin Luther King Day
Caesar Chavez Day
They should comped a extra day for the following days, since they fall during their summer vacation:
July 4th
Labor Day
Continuing;
Columbus Day, but it must be renamed Indigenous People’s Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving Day, and the following Friday
Two weeks starting on the first Day of Chanukuh, not to infringe on the Christmas Holiday from the week before Christmas to the week after New Year’s Day.
Kwanzaa Week, if it falls outside of Christmas week, comped if it falls inside of Christmas week.
Ramadan week.
The entire Period of Lent, but it must be renamed “Ski vacation”.
The week following Easter,to be renamed “teacher work days”.
Cinco De Mayo.
Friday before Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.
Monday following grandparent’s Day.
Groundhog Day
April Fool’s Day, in honor of the Republicans.
Passover week if it falls outside of Ski week, comped otherwise. Renamed Diversity Celebration Week.
Then, of course, they should be entitled to ten mandatory sick days.
Personal day off for their birthday.
All holidays count toward their tenure.
Sick time in addition to mandatory sick days, up to six months before State Disability becomes involved.
No need to call in sick on any day. Too stressful. Just don’t show up.
Poor teachers. So sad how badly they are treated now.
When you consider the sort of education that many of our modern PS graduating students receive along the way, even the $59K base salary is too much. Teaching has become an institution that’s far more concerned aboout job security than it is about education.
There are exceptions to this, but those old-fashioned teachers are the ones who have the smallest voices in their own ever-tightening world of politics. They’re also a dying breed, and their replacements appear to be wanting… Look at the recent events in Wisconstein to understand where the new crews’ real priorities are.
The US public educational system has turned into an inefficient monster that needs to be slayed. It’s devolved into expensive subsidized State Day Care, and the caretakers have only themselves to blame.