Legislators are grappling with reforming our school finance system. It’s a daunting task, with as many twists and turns as a Six Flags roller-coaster and as frustrating as trying to keep second graders quiet during recess.
On one side of the debate are the education union lobbyists seeking more dollars for education, and on the other side are taxpayers demanding more education for their dollars. And our school children are locked in the middle.
Teacher pay represents the latest hurdle for legislators.
Before we leap, let’s look at the facts. Just how do Texas teachers fare in comparison to teachers in other states or in comparison to other professions?
According to the American Federation of Teachers, Texas teacher salaries are 17th in the country when adjusted for cost of living.
While per-pupil spending in Texas is above average, thirty-one states spend a greater percentage of their education dollars on teacher salaries. And Texas spends an average of only 50 cents of every education dollar on instruction, which includes teacher salaries.
Still teachers enjoy perks, which many other professions don’t offer. The Education Code stipulates that teachers officially work 187 days per year while most workers spend 235 days a year on the job. Currently, teachers are paid for longevity but not relative to results.
Teachers are local school district employees, not state employees. That hasn’t kept the state from providing salary increases and monkeying with teacher health insurance, but perhaps it is time we think outside the box and consider reforming the education delivery system.
Like all individuals, teachers understand and respond to incentives. No doubt we could attract and retain good teachers if we provide them with more autonomy in the classroom, reduce the administrative oversight, and pay the best teachers as much as we pay administrators.
But is revenue the issue?
According to the National Education Association Texas ranked second among 50 states in total per capita local public education expenditures for 2002-03 and third among the 50 states in public education expenditures as a percentage of total state expenditures. The National Education Association says that education spending represents over 36% of our entire state budget, and according to AFT, around 38% of the total education spending in Texas goes to teacher salaries.
A 2002 AFT report found the since 1966, the percentage of education spending devoted to teacher salaries has continued to decline.
The Texas Education Agency’s facts may reveal we have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Texas public school districts spent 31% more per student in fiscal year 2003 than in fiscal year 1997. Yet the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Texas’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased only 13% in that period, and according to Education News, in five years, superintendent salaries have grown an unbelievable 77%.
Where is the funding going if not to the classroom?
With the average of around one non-teaching staff for every teacher, overhead is high. Also, taxpayers are becoming aware of the waste, fraud and abuse in education systems. One website where examples of wasteful spending are identified is the Educators Witness Protection Program. That website even includes testimonials from individuals who were harassed when they dared challenge their school district’s spending.
One could argue that over the past 40 years, taxpayers have provided the public education system with steady improvements in funding, teacher pay, and lower student/teacher ratios, but the student outcomes have not improved measurably.
It’s time to consider new solutions.
First, school district officials need to set spending priorities. The priority should be to educate Texas children – and to direct dollars to the classroom first. It is a travesty that only 50 cents of every education dollar gets to the classroom. Teacher salaries are part of the calculation of classroom costs, according to the TEA.
Second, as we address teacher pay, perhaps the question should not be multiple choice: A) across-the-board pay increases; B) support merit pay or C) incentive pay initiatives. Clearly, the right answer is B or C. But the right question might be how can we provide improved student outcomes for our expenditures.
Third, we must be bold. New Zealand instituted an interesting and radical reform. They eliminated all school boards and essentially made every public school self-governing. The funding was provided to each school with no strings attached. Then all parents were provided the ability to put their child in any school – private or public – at public expense.
And what happened? Did hell freeze over? No, it appears that once those changes were instituted, student performance improved.
Short of totally revamping the education system – which merits consideration – Texas legislators could take another approach that would provide complete local control.
For example, state funds could go directly to schools with no stipulations except that they be spent on instruction, including teacher pay. Local dollars could then be used to pay for other educational expenses, like administrative salaries, transportation, and other expenses. Then if parents wanted to determine the educational environment where their children have the greatest opportunity to learn, the parent could use the state funding at the school of their choice.
Perhaps the legislature should not be determining how much we should pay teachers but how we can provide more parental choice, greater teacher autonomy and local control.
Peggy Venable is the Texas director of Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots organization that educates and mobilizes citizens committed to limiting the size and scope of government and preserving individual freedom.
This article originally ran in the Lone Star Report.