Recordpub.com - Teacher pay tops in Aurora Crestwood, Southeast lowest of Portage districts in OEA salary survey

By Dave O'Brien

Record-Courier staff writer

Weighted by educational degree and teaching experience, Aurora and Kent school district teachers take home the highest pay among teachers in Portage County. And teachers in the Southeast School District are taking home the least, according to salary numbers compiled by the Ohio Education Association.

The numbers for the 2007-08 school year seem to reflect a district's general wealth. Aurora, an affluent community with a large commercial tax base and high property values, can afford to pay its teachers more, as can Kent. Southeast, with a large geographic area and number of students but a low commercial tax base, has fewer resources.

And, though some of the salary figures may have changed because of new contracts taking effect, Aurora teachers with a minimum of a bachelor's degree and zero years teaching experience were guaranteed a minimum $36,950 salary in their first year. In comparison, Southeast paid that same teacher $28,121.

The maximum that teacher can make at Southeast without additional college coursework is $44,994, according to the OEA. In Kent, that salary ceiling jumps to $63,592 with no additional education. The next educational step, a master's degree, would bring a minimum of $31,496 for a Southeast teacher, or $42,493 for that same teacher in Aurora.

The salary ceiling with a master's degree is $54,274 in Southeast and $73,899 in Kent, according to the OEA numbers. The low end salary for a teacher with a master's degree and 25 years experience is also at Southeast, coming to $56,946, and the high at Aurora, where a master's plus 25 years means a base of $82,772.

A master's degree with 30 years experience will bring an Aurora teacher to $86,082, the most in Portage. The same educational and teaching experience earns $57,508 in Southeast.

Additional training, degrees and longevity can bump salaries even higher. An Aurora teacher with a doctorate and maximum longevity steps can take home $97,319 a year, while a Kent teacher with a master's degree plus 30 years may earn a maximum of $79,056.

Ravenna recently entered a new contract year, so the most current numbers for teachers in the Ravenna School District were about 2 percent higher than the OEA numbers, according to Superintendent Tim Calfee. He said the top-end salary for the average Portage County teacher approaches $70,000.

Some school districts have salary "steps" that are equivalent to one year's teaching experience. Ravenna's steps go from one to 14 years, with a gap between year 14 and 20.

"You don't get another raise until step 20," Calfee said. Ravenna's highest step is 26, he said.

Kent School District officials were on a staff retreat and couldn't be reached for comment. A message was left for a representative of the Kent Education Association, the teachers' union.

Streetsboro's salaries also have increased for 2008-09 over the OEA numbers, according to a salary schedule provided by district Personnel Supervisor Pam Beech. For the current contract year, a starting Streetsboro teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience will earn $32,941, according to the salary schedule.

The five salary levels in Streetsboro include a bachelor's degree, a bachelor's degree plus 15 credit hours, master's degree, master's degree plus 15 credit hours and master's degree plus 30 credit hours. As Streetsboro also works on a "step" system, a teacher with 30 years experience, a master's degree plus 30 credit hours at the 24th step will earn $73,458 this year.

Teacher salaries in Streetsboro hit a ceiling at 24 years experience, with teachers who have 24 to 30 years experience earning no more in their 30th year than they did in their 24th as long as their level of education remains constant.

After Aurora and Kent, Mogadore -- which straddles Portage and Summit counties -- and Maplewood Career Center in Ravenna pay the most to rookie teachers. A rookie teacher just starting in Mogadore, a small school district, will make $34,174, according to the OEA, and top out after 30 years at $67,596. Maplewood teachers make $33,769 to start and $70,975 at the highest step and experience.

Streetsboro, Windham, Rootstown, James A. Garfield, Waterloo, Crestwood and Field teachers round out the list of 12 districts and one career center serving Portage County.

Ravenna is "not the highest, and we're not the lowest. But we're above average for the county. What's going to happen in Portage County is Aurora's always going to have the top (salaries), because they're wealthier, and then Kent," Calfee said.

3.	Posted by whizzard1 August 17, 2008
	I don't think it has to do with the money at all. It has to do with the teacher. Dedication to their job and the love of doing want they want is what delivers the higher test scores. Crestwood doesn't pay as high as others yet their students achieve with greater success than others in the area such as Streetsboro. We do have great and excellent teachers in our district but it appears that they only make of 30% of our teaching staff. The administration and the School board also are a factor. Rather than spend the money on technology and building maintenance, the push 87% of the total revenue collected to Salaries and Benefits. With so much going out and so little gained it is no wonder our youth are struggling both in school and after graduation. The average income in Streetsboro is around 30,000 but yet our teachers are paid more and we go from 63% to 65% passing. Why are we throwing our money away on such poor performance from our district. Isn't it time we start getting results for what we pay? Have we all become complacent to let this happen? Why are we as a community letting our district get away with this?