Public School Pay & Benefits

Become a Teacher: Public School Pay and Benefits

There are many discussions in the United States about public school teacher’s salary. Many people believe that, because of the importance of their job, that teachers are not paid enough. There are a lot of comparisons to the salary of less demanding careers that pay more than educating the youth of our nation.

Teacher Salary Range

Teacher’s salaries vary depending on different factors such as location, years of experience, and the teacher’s degree. There are often bonus supplement payments for a teacher that has a Master’s Degree or Doctorate Degree. The average salary for a teacher at a public school in the United States is $44,800. That is a lot of money, in my opinion, if you are looking at the hours that a teacher in the American public school systems works. The average teacher works approximately 36.5 hours per week. These two averages combine to give you one very interesting statistical point, and that is teachers hourly salary is $23.60. On average public school teachers are paid 61% more than private school teachers.
Take into consideration that the above paragraph is all based on average throughout the United States. There is a variety of pay-scale throughout the public schools of America. For example, teachers at a public school in Metro Detroit are going to make more than a teacher in a suburban public school in Utah. Another factoring equation is the years of experience that the teacher has, and I believe this is where most of the “lack of salary” talk comes from. Men and women graduate from college with a degree in their respective fields and find out that the $44,800 was an average and not their salary. Also, add into the mix a tough job market and high educational costs, and one may be wondering if they had chosen a wise career. Teaching is like many other things in life, and with all good things it takes time. Teachers in public schools not only have a large salary, but they also have some nice benefits.

Public School Teacher Compensation Packages and Benefits

In the public schools most all of the insurance benefits are paid for by the Board of Education. The Board of Education are the men and women who were voted on by their peers as a panel to make the correct decisions for the school and for the students. Public school teachers have a large variety of benefits. These benefits include health insurance, life insurance, vision insurance, and post-retirement insurance. These benefits vary depending on the state and district of the public schools and what they can offer their teachers. Other benefits of becoming a teacher in the public school system are retirement contributions, dental insurance, sick leave, professional leave, and a duty free lunch break.

Also, many school districts offer compensation to their workforce by tuition reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement is when the teacher receives money to help pay for some of the education that they received in college. Some reimbursement programs will pay up to 75% of the cost it took a teacher to reach their Masters Degree.