Minimum Wage for Teachers
Senator Sanders recently wrote an op-ed for the Oklahoman. Among other radical ideas, he proposes a federal minimum wage for teachers of $60,000. In a free market, a minimum wage hurts those who earn less than the minimum wage. If they can’t produce more value than the minimum wage, they will be unemployable. For teachers, who operate in a regulated market, it will still be more difficult for inexperienced teachers to find a job. Incentives to pursue further training and education, or to take on additional roles like advising clubs or coaching sports will be diminished. Or perhaps young teachers will be required to take on one or more of these extracurricular activities to justify their higher cost.
Lost in the promise of a minimum wage is the idea that the best teachers should be paid the most. Instead, most public school teachers in Oklahoma are paid in lockstep – meaning that an outstanding teacher makes the same as a mediocre teacher with the same level of experience. Adding a minimum wage would further flatten the pay scale – every teacher currently below the $60,000 threshold would be paid the same – meaning a great teacher with 25 years of experience and a masters degree, whose students are consistently above the national average would make the same as a struggling first or second year teacher who fails to teach his students.
The Senator asserts that Oklahoma pay 15% below the national average. But after adjusting for Oklahoma’s low cost of living, Oklahoma’s nominal $52,412 actually has the same buying power as $59,697 would at the national average. Which means that in real dollar terms Oklahoma teachers earn, on average, 96.7% of the national average $61,730. In fact, the Senator’s home state of Vermont only pays teachers a cost-of-living-adjusted $51,567. As 1889 has repeatedly pointed out, total spending is a terrible measure of the success of a program. Outputs like student scores on national standardized knowledge tests are a much better way to see if public schools are succeeding. And beyond certain minimum funding thresholds, throwing more money at schools without improving their structural deficiencies does little to improve student outcomes.
Quitting Teachers and Recruitment Issues
Senator Sanders asserts that the alleged teacher shortage is due to low pay. While it is true that most people would be less likely to leave a given job if it paid more, the senator fails to show causation in a teacher shortage. Are teachers quitting because of low pay? Or is it due to onerous obligations, failing administrators, required coddling of students, and constant pressure to be politically active? Is recruitment down because pay is too low, or because the requirements are too demanding? Why does a 4th grade teacher need a master’s degree?
The senator is right that teachers are not afforded enough professional respect. This can be remedied by treating teachers like practitioners. Teachers should be allowed to create Co-op Charter Schools, much like how doctors and lawyers band together in partnerships. This practitioner approach would give teachers more say in how their time is spent, how their school is run, and who their administrators are. They could also expect to see their salaries rise as unnecessary administrative bloat is cut.
Out of pocket expenses
One area where Senator Sanders almost gets it right is on out-of-pocket spending by teachers. It is shameful that Oklahoma teachers have to pay for supplies out of their own pockets. But rather than introducing transparency and accountability into school budgets, and making sure administrators actually supply needed materials, the Senator proposes a grant system to refund teachers for these expenditures. Instead of increasing accountability, he proposes to enable waste.
EPIC Profits
Senator Sanders charges that EPIC schools “can profit in the millions while draining the public school system of more than $112 million…” The reality is that EPIC educates students for less money than a public school and STILL manages to turn a profit. EPIC, and other charter schools, are paid on a per-pupil basis – like public schools. But charters get paid less per student. Every student educated by a charter means the overall per-pupil funding in public schools goes up – since the same amount of money is spread across fewer students.
The senator seems to conflate profits with theft. Profits are an important incentive to innovation and improved efficiency. Consider Oklahoma’s Tax Credit Scholarship program. Oklahoma City University estimates that every dollar donated to the scholarship fund, which takes one dollar directly out of the state general fund, ends up saving the state $1.24 dollars. Which means that by circumventing the state, private schools are using the money far more efficiently. If EPIC can receive less per student, produce better outcomes, and still make a profit, doesn’t that seem like something we should expand? Who does it sound like is wasting public funds?
Of course, Senator Sanders wants every child educated in a public school. They have been slowly indoctrinating children to become state-dependent socialists for decades. Recently that process has accelerated. Teachers are becoming less bashful about openly endorsing socialism. They feel free to revise history to fit their narrative. Draw your own conclusions.
Mike Davis is Research Fellow at 1889 Institute. He can be reached at [email protected].
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of 1889 Institute.