NOVEMBER 2017
Feature 5
Teachers ARE NOT fairly compensated
Braband speaking during a conference with student journalists. Photo by Maggie Markon
Samantha Lebeck Copy Editor Teachers shape the future by instilling life skills, values and vital information into today’s youth and setting examples for them daily. Teachers should be making an amount that reflects their crucial roles and their extraordinary work ethic, but many agree that their current salary does not meet this standard. Dr. Scott Braband, the newlyappointed FCPS superintendent, recently addressed the issue of teacher pay and explained what he plans to do in the coming years to improve it in a press conference with student journalists. “[Teacher pay] is going to be my number one priority,” Braband said. “I am going to double down [on the fact that] we need to move teacher pay faster. Classroom to classroom, there are more great teachers in Fairfax County than anywhere else. To get great teachers and keep them, we need to pay them well and make the working conditions of the school the best that they can be.” It is a challenge to hire and retain quality teachers given that the supply of teachers has decreased by high career turnover rates of teachers still early in their career, retirement of longtime teachers and a decline in students choosing to follow a teaching career. While all of these factors are decreasing the flow of teachers into schools, larger student populations are
increasing the demand for teachers. Despite the growing demand, the amount they get paid has remained relatively untouched. In 2015, the wages of public school teachers in the United States were 17 percent lower than other college-educated professionals with the same amount of experience (Washington Post). “I’ve been teaching for 23 years, and I have two degrees,” English teacher Linda Oliva said. “My husband has a GED and does air conditioning and heating work, and we get paid almost the same. It is embarrassing.” In addition to the fact that teachers are not paid enough, they are also not paid in an ideal manner. Teachers are paid monthly, which is easier for distribution but difficult to budget with families to support and bills to pay. “[Getting paid monthly] is hard,” Oliva said. “We don’t get any pay over the summer, and we get our December check right before winter break and don’t get another check until January 31. Budgeting for Christmas can be difficult, and usually I have to put it on my credit card.” FCPS is ranked within the top 10 of the best and most diverse districts in VA, making it appealing for families and teachers alike to move into the district to learn and teach. Even as the nationwide need for teachers expands, the process to get a position in Fairfax County
remains competitive, encouraging skilled teachers to apply for a job here as opposed to other nearby areas. But while the area attracts teachers from around the country, nearby Arlington and Falls Church counties offer a significantly larger amount to their teachers, with salaries averaging $78,000 and $76,000 respectively, compared to Fairfax’s average of $56,000 (WTOP). “I think it’s very competitive to get a job here, and I feel like a lot of teachers come into Fairfax County with masters degrees,” history teacher Maggie Jones said. “We all have strong educational backgrounds and we go through good teaching programs. Our teacher prep programs prepare us better [than others]. The diversity and reputation that FCPS has definitely draws people into the area, and it doesn’t hurt to be located close to DC.” Northern Virginia’s location positively encourages diversity and offers a multitude of jobs, and pairing that with great schools makes it an enticing place to live. But, what makes Virginia appealing also makes it one of the most expensive areas to live. The cost of living in the greater Washington area is 40 percent higher than the national average (Patch). Teachers who work persistently to educate kids are too often placed under financial hardship when their salaries are put up against the prices of houses, groceries and other necessities. “[Teachers] have a high cost of living; they live in Fairfax,” Braband said. “How do we make sure they have a salary commensurate to the professionals that they are and [one that] allows them to have a good lifestyle? Every teacher deserves that, and we’ve got teachers trying to work two jobs or working the summer, and that’s just ridiculous. We have to pay our teachers more to have a great school system. We need the best and brightest teachers in every state to come here to Fairfax, and the only way we’re going to do that is by having the best salary and having the best working conditions.”