Teacher Talk Reveals Differences in Pay
by March 30, 2012 4:52 pm 89 views
A recent story in Arkansas Business pointed out the difference in teacher salaries in Northwest Arkansas compared to other parts of the state.
Base pay for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $41,310 in Fayetteville, $42,500 in Rogers and $43,320 in Springdale, according to the Arkansas Department of Education’s teacher salary schedule analysis. Compare that to the state average for teachers with the same credentials: $34,465.
Someone at AB asked ADE director of communications Seth Blomeley about the issue, and he said higher student-teacher ratios are partly responsible.
“So they’re able to use their money more efficiently,” Blomeley said. “They can pay their personnel at a more competitive rate than smaller districts that may not have the student-teacher ratio where they can pay their teachers more.”
Stiff competition between the districts also drives up salaries, Blomeley added.