EDUCATION DAILY, FEBRUARY 16, 2005

ED TRUST FINDS DISPARITIES IN TEACHER PAY WITHIN DISTRICTS

Districtwide per-pupil spending figures conceal funding gaps between schools

California districts’ per-pupil spending statistics mask a hidden salary gap as the most qualified and best-paid teachers take positions in wealthier, mostly white schools, according to an Education Trust-West report released Tuesday.

Citing studies showing that student success often depends on the quality of teachers, the report says districtwide per-pupil spending figures don’t show the whole picture. Once the figures are broken down, high-poverty, minority schools within districts have lower-paid teachers.

“We find that the concentration of more experienced and more highly credentialed teachers (along with their corresponding high salaries) in whiter and more affluent schools drives huge funding gaps between schools — even between schools within the very same district,” the report said.

The report says the higher-paid teachers naturally migrate to schools with better conditions and fewer challenges, and administrators in the impoverished schools cannot combat the trend because of teacher contracts and single-salary schedules.

Of 50 large school districts surveyed, 40 spent less on teachers in schools serving mostly low-income students than in schools serving the fewest numbers of poor students.

On average, the 40 schools spent an estimated $2,396 less per teacher.

San Bernadino’s high-poverty elementary schools spent $5,760 less per teacher than the wealthier schools.

Addressing the gap In virtually every school, administrators are given a teacher allocation — for example, 40 teaching slots, rather than a teacher salary allocation.

The only exception is the Oakland Unified School District, which addresses the gap by giving administrators the flexibility to spend their salary budget on a mix of new or veteran teachers.

Oakland superintendent Randolph Ward said in a press conference that the district has avoided conflict with teachers’ unions by offering attractive incentives, such as pay for training, that go beyond the standard salary schedule.

Of each school’s budget in Oakland, 85 percent goes toward teacher salaries, Ward added.

Don Iglesias, superintendent of San Jose Unified School District, said there needs to be national leadership to inspire young teachers who believe in solving equity issues, “rather than force marching teachers from the suburbs to the urban centers.”

Fiscal crisis to blame?

California’s superintendent, Jack O’Connell, commended the report’s findings and blamed the shortcomings on California’s fiscal crisis.

“This is a problem that needs to be addressed in the best interests of California’s students, and one that will require good faith negotiations and compromise between school districts and bargaining units,” O’Connell said in a statement.

California’s Hidden Teacher Spending Gap can be found at www.hiddengap.org. —Stew Magnuson

Recommendations

California’s Hidden Teacher Spending Gap recommended:

• Lifting the veil of secrecy by making schoollevel teacher salaries publicly available rather than districtwide averages.

• Providing clear analyses on what is perpetuating the salary gaps, particularly the roles of single-salary schedules and contract provisions.

• Using those analyses to close the gap.

Reprinted with permission from Education Daily™. Copyright 2005 by LRP Publications, PO Box 24668, West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4668. All rights reserved. For more information on Education Daily™ please visit www.educationdaily.net or call 1-800-341-7874.