J Lin- Lanier M.S.

Student-Led Townhall Meeting 1

Jessica Lin

Lanier M.S. Townhall

February 21, 2018

End the Revolving Door: Increase Teachers’ Salaries and Ensure Our Schools’ Stability

Good morning. My name is Jessica Lin, and let’s talk about a taboo topic: salary. The

average primary care doctor makes around $195,990 (one hundred ninety five thousand, nine

hundred and ninety dollars) a year. Top athletes can get hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Then there are teachers. The average in 2016 for teacher salary was only $58,000. And in HISD,

it's even less. Only a teacher with 20+ years of experience gets close to that number.

The average teacher gets paid $49,000 a year in Texas. While HISD’s average salary is

greater than that, it pales in comparison to the average salary in New York, which is $75,000.

The average for California is at around $69,000. The reason why Texas’s average salary is so

low despite the large population might have to do with the ruralness of the state. Therefore, we

should compare HISD’s salary with other urban school school districts. After all, Houston is the

fourth largest city in our country, and HISD is the seventh largest public school district in our

country. A teacher in the New York City Department of Education can be expected to earn

$72,971 in their tenth year of teaching. In Chicago Public Schools, the salary is at $73,947 for

the same amount of experience. But in HISD, a teacher in their tenth year would only earn

$55,620.

Not only that, but HISD has been decreasing the benefits given to teachers. One example

would be the elimination of HISD’s health savings account. Previously, whenever a teacher went
 J Lin- Lanier M.S. Student-Led Townhall Meeting 2

to the doctor’s, they could pay for the bill with the health savings account. Unfortunately, now

that this savings account is gone, teachers have to pay out-of-pocket for these visits.

HISD teachers have been pushing for an increase of salary by 5%. While they did

recently get a raise, the percentage was based off of experience, and not even the teachers with

26+ years of experience got 5%. The district also increased the salary of principals and

administration, both of whom already make more than teachers. Because of this, more teachers

are seeking administration roles, which leaves their previous roles as teachers empty. HISD in

generally has high turnover rates, among both their teachers and administration. More than half

of all teachers in HISD have had less than 10 years of experience. Even without looking at the

numbers, I can personally say that there have been a lot of new teachers at my school recently.

Not only are there many new teachers at my school, but the principal is also new. 60% of the

principals in HISD have had three years or less of experience.

Before you think I’m being too critical, teacher salary in HISD has definitely improved in

the past 10 years. But just because it is getting better doesn’t mean that it is the best. Maybe this

isn’t a matter of just HISD, but teacher salary in general is too low for the job that they do. A

good teacher not only teaches a student their respective subject, but they also teach the student

how to grow as a human being. A good teacher doesn’t just teach a student how to remember,

they teach them how to think. Getting new teachers/administration can be a good thing, but

constant change makes everything too chaotic. While new teachers can bring new ideas and

techniques to the classroom, stability is a crucial component to anything. Also, change takes

time. I’m sure there are many new teachers who are wonderful at their jobs, but it takes time for
 J Lin- Lanier M.S. Student-Led Townhall Meeting 3

them to get used to a new classroom. A veteran teacher already knows what works and what

doesn’t, but a novice teacher doesn’t have the luxury of all that experience.

I believe that the topic of teacher salary and teacher turnover rates is connected. I

previously mentioned the salaries for a teacher in their tenth year of teaching in different school

districts, and you saw the stark difference between them and HISD. What I didn’t mention was

the starting salary in these districts. HISD actually has a similar salary for first year teachers as

the New York City Department of Education and Chicago Public Schools: $52,000. This leads

me to believe that part of the reason why there are less veteran teachers is because teacher salary

in HISD doesn’t increase substantially based off of experience. Therefore, an increase in salary,

specifically for veteran teachers, could be the solution to a lack of experienced teachers and

teacher turnover. If a substantial pay raise is completely out of the picture, at least increase the

support.

One argument that I’ve heard is that teachers don’t work for the whole year. A correction

to the previous statement, teachers don’t get paid for the whole year. Just because school is out

doesn’t mean teachers are on break. Many of them are still working. A lot of lesson planning

occurs during this time as teachers take a look back at their past year. Some teachers take this as

an opportunity to keep learning. Other professions may get less time for vacation, but their

vacation days are still paid. A teacher might still get paid over the break, but it’s based off of

what they did in the nine months of school. I understand that currently, HISD is having some

issues with its budget, but I believe that this issue of teacher salary stems far past HISD, up into a

state and national level. It’s buried at the center of how we fund public education in the first

place. And I believe that this low salary also reflects how we view teaching as a profession. It
 J Lin- Lanier M.S. Student-Led Townhall Meeting 4

devalues this line of work and decreases the respect we should have for these vital individuals.

Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions. Anyone who has any influence

in this world at one point had a teacher. A teacher who inspired them to achieve greatness.

As a young child, I knew many classmates who wanted to be teachers when they grew

up. They wanted to inspire others and change futures. Now, I don’t know anyone who still wants

to be a teacher. This is because they view the job as underpaid, and they’re not wrong. The

United States isn’t exactly topping the charts for highest teacher salary, even though we’re

giving millions of dollars to people who run around throwing balls. At the district level, teacher

pay is even lower. Something that isn’t low is the teacher turnover rate. Many reliable teachers

are leaving, which means that there is a staggering amount of new teachers. While new faces can

be good, stability and the trust that can only be built with time are important. Obviously, this

isn’t a problem that’s going to get fixed overnight. And it’s not a simple problem to solve either.

One thing we can do is recognize the importance of teachers. They work endlessly to provide a

bright future for our nation’s children. They’re teaching the next doctors, scientists, and leaders.

The least we can do is support them.