[StBernard] teacher raises

[Westley Annis]

I downloaded from nola.com the Public Affairs Research Council's report on
LA teacher pay by school districts, which shows beginning teacher pay,
performance and certification ranking, etc.  I compared St. Bernard to the
rest of the state.
 
Based on this report, I offer the following for thought.
When one looks at our parish's AVERAGE pay of $44,430 for its teachers, it
appears competitive to parishes such as Jefferson, but lower than St.
Tammany's $46,221. However, average is greatly influenced by the length of
time each school district's teachers have been teaching.  We know that as
the baby boomers near retirement, the average will come down as the most
senior teachers have the higher pay.  
 
A more telling comparison is the starting salary, since the future of our
children's education is with the incoming, new teachers.  This is where our
parish is woefully behind. A new certified teacher in St. Tammany will start
at $34,690 compared to only $28, 023 in St. Bernard. This is more than
$6,000 annually or 18 % less for the same level of education and job. It's
an $8,000 annual difference for a teacher with a masters degree and five
years experience.  
 
The Blanco proposal is an equal pay raise of a set amount of dollars to get
the AVERAGE LA teacher's salary near the southern average. However, an equal
pay raise will still not get a St. Bernard teacher any closer to the pay of
a St. Tammany teacher.
 
I know there are so many demands on such limited funds for all our parish's
needs. But there is a correlation between what a school district pays its
teachers and the ability to attract and retain the best and brightest
certified teachers.  
 
As a parish, we need to include in our priorities attracting and retaining
teachers in an environment where qualified and experience teachers are
looking for school districts that value their teachers with competitive pay
scales.  Let's face it, many of the current teachers are in our parish
because they have roots here and have a commitment to St. Bernard. New
teachers are not seeing the St. Bernard Parish that once was and they can
set their roots down anywhere. 
 
There has been much talk about St. Bernard's assets, including proximity to
New Orleans and Jackson Barracks. This is because the military families that
Jackson Barracks will bring will be looking for a good family, oriented
community with great public schools and recreation. They will invest in our
community if they see our community investing in their needs.
 
Part of their consideration of St. Bernard Parish as a home will be
statistics like student performance, teacher pay, no. of certified teachers,
and school district performance scores. Will they find that in the next few
years, or pass us over if the crop of new teachers don't see value in
teaching here compared to elsewhere because of the pay differential?  
 
In our concern about levee protection, sewerage treatment plants, road
repairs, etc. let's not forget financing our school district's needs. Do our
children and grandchildren deserve less?  ddk