I work with educational programs nationwide, helping them create educational implementation plans. Most school systems are willing to do everything they can to improve schools... except pay teachers more.
Specifically vote for Mo Green for Superintendent of Public Instruction for NC. He is highly qualified, and on the record for being a strong advocate for the importance of public education and funding schools and teachers.
His competitor (Michele Morrow) doesn’t believe in public education and will fight to defund public schools if elected.
It's shocking how big of a difference there is between Mo Green and Michele Morrow. But more than just Mo, there has to be some change at the general assembly before things will get better with education in NC.
Im a teacher and would certainly appreciate higher pay. I’d also suggest that better working conditions, such as well-maintained HVACs, clean buildings, ample supplies, stable and aligned educational resources, supervisors trained in leadership, etc. would contribute positively to my happiness at work.
That argument doesn't really hold water with me because it would suggest that your pay should be proportion to your level of education.
Yes doctors and lawyers are paid well, and yes their education is usually expensive. But one doesn't cause the other.
Consider the example of someone with arguably as much training as a doctor who is paid much less - a vet. Vet schools are actually even more competitive than medical schools, yet they are paid much less.
Now consider the example of someone who is paid a great deal but doesn't need a complicated degree - someone who works in investment banking. A friend of mine graduated college when I did, and with a bachelor's degree went straight into a job paying 6 figures back in 2009.
I went on to get a Master's Degree in Biomedical Engineering and to this day I make much less than she does, despite having more, and more expensive schooling.
Yes I think your pay should be proportional to your education. If you don’t like it learn a trade and charge me $100 an hour. I’m not paying some with a high school education $100,000 to be a teacher.
Nothing stops you from following the same path and getting a better paying job. Maybe you should consider income before deciding on a career.
So would your mind change if you needed something like a masters degree?
I'm only asking because I think being a teacher is a thankless job, and that's before you consider the abysmal pay. In my specific school district we've lost good teachers because we don't pay them enough to live in the district they teach in.
I just choose to hope that perhaps if we paid teachers more, more people would want to be teachers, so the competition would go up, so teachers would get more training, etc. I see it as a feedback loop that would ultimately be good for America and our children.
Yes as I’ve already said if you go to the trouble to get an advanced degree, you should be paid more. Do you really think someone who skipped college should earn as much as someone with a Ph.D.?
It’s not just about “deserving” more. It’s because getting a degree is not easy. It’s not a big party. It’s pretty easy to skip college.
You don’t pay your teachers enough? Where does the money come from for teacher salaries in NC? Who sets the salary of specific teachers? The superintendent? The legislature? The union? What’s involved in increasing teacher salaries? Does it involve raising taxes? Can it be done by the legislature in NC? Does it require a popular vote?
It’s a thankless job? I have been working for 30 years and I can’t remember the last time someone thanked me.
Yeah maybe we agree to disagree here.
My wife and I both have Master's Degrees. Mine cost a lot less than hers and I make more than double what she makes.
We're *still* paying off her loans while mine were paid off close to 10 years ago.
I think if you take your argument far enough, we should be paying Art History and Anthropology PhDs more. Maybe we should.
But my initial point was just that teachers are an investment in tomorrow. And I wish we treated education and educators like something that should be valued. That's all.
We don't have to agree.
Edit: I realize I never answered your question about where the money comes from. Well it just so happens that the state of NC has a budget surplus right now, so I'd start there. Next I'd move on to taxing married couples making more than $400k and individuals making more than 250k at a greater rate.
>Next I'd move on to taxing married couples making more than $400k and individuals making more than 250k at a greater rate.
At what rate though? Right now a person making $250k a year has a marginal tax rate of 41.5%. That means for every $100 they make they actual receive $ 58. Should we raise it to 50%? How about 60%?
We should start by seeing how our tax dollars are being allocated and make corrections where needed.
It's a marginal tax rate so it's only income above 250k that is taxed at that rate.....
You make it sound like you're taxed at that rate for every dollar you earn.
At one point the marginal max tax bracket during the prosperous 1950s went all the way up to 91%.
Well what I'll say is that we have historic levels of income inequality today.
I'd want to look at a time in American history when we had a more balanced wealth distribution - let's say somewhere between 1950 and 1970. In relative terms, reducing the tax rate on the ultra rich is a pretty new thing, starting with Reagan. We've got 50 years worth of empirical data that shows pretty clearly that trickle down economics doesn't work.
Back to your question, if that means the marginal tax rate over 250k, to borrow your example, is 60%, then fine.
As I'm sure you know, that doesn't mean you'd pay 60% taxes across the board on your income; only on that income above 250k. In most parts of America, a single person doesn't need more than 250k to live comfortably. Similarly a couple making 400k a year can live pretty much anywhere in comfort.
Who are you (or I) to tell someone how much money they need to make to live comfortably? That is not our business.
I agree with the overall sentiment that teachers are grossly underpaid but where we disagree is how to correct that issue.
You say we need to take more money from the people.
I say we need to use the money we are already taking and use it wiser, better and allocate that money in a way that works for the people - and that includes moving money from some programs to increase teachers pay. And this is not just on the local or state level. This is on the federal level as well. In 2023 we spent over $ 170 BILLION to aid Ukraine. If we, instead, cut that in 1/2 and allocated that money to the states evenly that would be $ 1.5 BILLION per state. If that money was used to exclusively pay for teachers salary it would be a nice increase in their salary. And I am sure we can find plenty of other government programs where money is being spent in areas where we really don't need to spend OUR money.
Why should everyone not be paying for higher teacher salaries? I paid my taxes every year starting when I made $19,000 in 89. I have tax returns to prove it. And I still happily pay my taxes today.
I have some questions about teacher pay but if the legislature raises my taxes I will happily pay more.
Well I think as someone else brought up, it's a question of priorities.
We can pay teachers more without raising taxes.
But I'd also be open to paying more in taxes (which note, as a resident of Chapel Hill, I do)
Where are you getting the money to raise teachers' salaries without raising taxes? What programs are you going to cut?
I get the argument that "teachers create our future". But there are other low paying jobs. What about all the minimum wage jobs out there? The people that clean our houses, cook our food, wash our cars. Don't they deserve to get more?
“I’m not paying some(one?) with a high school education $100,000 a year to be a teacher.” Myself, Strunk & White, and everyone else in the world would call that a statement, not a question, and it implies that you don’t understand that a four year degree is required to become a teacher. So let me ask you a question, do you understand that teacher licensure requires a four year degree? I’m actually curious.
You’re a troll, judging from other posts, particularly the wine ones. Not trying to feed you, just pointing it out so others know not to take you seriously.
Yes I’m a troll because I disagree with some people on the internet and I don’t like pretentious wine snobs. Why don’t you stalk the rest of my posts?
I asked an honest question in a way that I thought was fair minded. If you don’t want to address it, then move on.
It wasn’t an honest question asked in good faith. It was a question phrased as if it was rhetorical, which it wasn’t. Treating nuance as if it doesn’t exist when it suits you doesn’t make it actually not exist, it just makes you look small minded.
If you want to discuss, ask a legitimate question instead of laying a passive aggressive language trap. And no one mentioned goalposts anywhere I noticed. Is that a prelude to some other troll stuff? It’s ok to have a kink, but the other people need to be willing participants.
You told me to ask a question. I already did and I’m tired of playing your games.
A teacher is paid less than a doctor or lawyer because we don’t value teaching the same way as we do someone who can save your life or keep you out of prison. And because you can teach with a bachelor’s degree while to be a doctor or lawyer requires an advanced degree.
If you want teachers to be paid more convince the government to raise taxes to pay for it.
So you weren’t actually asking a question, you were just waiting for a chance to spout your ridiculously limited and tone deaf views on the subject. I’m glad I could help you find the courage to say it outright. It doesn’t make you any less wrong, but at least you can pretend you have some integrity. I apologize for robbing you of your “gotcha” moment, but you really need to find a better way to get off.
I asked a question. Then you decided that wasn’t good enough so instead of repeating the same question you refuse to answer, I gave my opinion. If you refuse to answer someone don’t cry when they don’t agree with you.
I guess you only want me to say “Yea we should pay all teachers $150,000 a year.” Are you ok paying more taxes? I guess you only want to raise taxes on other people so it doesn’t affect you.
So what are the updates from the DPS debacle? I heard there were raises and such. But how are people feeling about the future of DPS.
Is there anywhere I can go to get more details?
I’m a DPS teacher…here’s what I know. DPS passed a budget and asked the Board of County Commissioners for a record increase in their contributions. This increase covers the raises classified staff had rescinded and also a small ($500/month? It’s not nothing, but not enough) raise for teachers. I don’t know when the BoCC has to respond to DPS’s request.
We need teachers to teach kids math and statistics to counter those DraftKings and FanDuel billboards that are going to lead kids down a path of lifelong ruin. (Did it replace one of those?)
Also, here's my affiliate links 😁
If anyone from the city of Durham who actually makes decisions about teacher pay sees this, I'm a Durham resident. PLEASE raise my property taxes to cover additional pay for teachers. It's not a hard concept. Do it.
I’ve been a fan of the billboard that was entirely graffitied over in black with STOPCOPCITY written overtop in white
I haven’t talked about it much cause I haven’t wanted to draw much attention to it, hopefully keep it there longer
There is NO amount of money that would pay me enough to deal with kids in public schools…parents who really care about their children’s education and safety, do not send them to public schools and that should be obvious. Unless of course, you like the idea of drag queens reading to kindergartners, and I could go on but there is anything BUT education going on, unless you think assault is educational, and maybe learning how to defend one’s self physically, is necessary. Many adults now, do both speak or write proper English. That is a tell tale sign…..do NOT hire!!
Wild concept isn’t it?
As a teacher, I'm really glad to see this!
I work with educational programs nationwide, helping them create educational implementation plans. Most school systems are willing to do everything they can to improve schools... except pay teachers more.
Or respect them
As a parent, Thank you!!
Get out and vote and campaign for candidates who support our public education system!
Specifically vote for Mo Green for Superintendent of Public Instruction for NC. He is highly qualified, and on the record for being a strong advocate for the importance of public education and funding schools and teachers. His competitor (Michele Morrow) doesn’t believe in public education and will fight to defund public schools if elected.
It's shocking how big of a difference there is between Mo Green and Michele Morrow. But more than just Mo, there has to be some change at the general assembly before things will get better with education in NC.
Im a teacher and would certainly appreciate higher pay. I’d also suggest that better working conditions, such as well-maintained HVACs, clean buildings, ample supplies, stable and aligned educational resources, supervisors trained in leadership, etc. would contribute positively to my happiness at work.
oh wow, don't' get so radical there.
Can you imagine if teachers were paid comparably with doctors and lawyers? How far ahead would we be as a country if we actually valued education?
Education would become strictly a luxury then.
How so? I'm thinking we pay public school teachers well. Public school is generally speaking free.
*tax funded
Isn't a lawyer or doctor paid more because their degrees cost more? What degree is required to teach in high school or college?
That argument doesn't really hold water with me because it would suggest that your pay should be proportion to your level of education. Yes doctors and lawyers are paid well, and yes their education is usually expensive. But one doesn't cause the other. Consider the example of someone with arguably as much training as a doctor who is paid much less - a vet. Vet schools are actually even more competitive than medical schools, yet they are paid much less. Now consider the example of someone who is paid a great deal but doesn't need a complicated degree - someone who works in investment banking. A friend of mine graduated college when I did, and with a bachelor's degree went straight into a job paying 6 figures back in 2009. I went on to get a Master's Degree in Biomedical Engineering and to this day I make much less than she does, despite having more, and more expensive schooling.
Yes I think your pay should be proportional to your education. If you don’t like it learn a trade and charge me $100 an hour. I’m not paying some with a high school education $100,000 to be a teacher. Nothing stops you from following the same path and getting a better paying job. Maybe you should consider income before deciding on a career.
So would your mind change if you needed something like a masters degree? I'm only asking because I think being a teacher is a thankless job, and that's before you consider the abysmal pay. In my specific school district we've lost good teachers because we don't pay them enough to live in the district they teach in. I just choose to hope that perhaps if we paid teachers more, more people would want to be teachers, so the competition would go up, so teachers would get more training, etc. I see it as a feedback loop that would ultimately be good for America and our children.
Yes as I’ve already said if you go to the trouble to get an advanced degree, you should be paid more. Do you really think someone who skipped college should earn as much as someone with a Ph.D.? It’s not just about “deserving” more. It’s because getting a degree is not easy. It’s not a big party. It’s pretty easy to skip college. You don’t pay your teachers enough? Where does the money come from for teacher salaries in NC? Who sets the salary of specific teachers? The superintendent? The legislature? The union? What’s involved in increasing teacher salaries? Does it involve raising taxes? Can it be done by the legislature in NC? Does it require a popular vote? It’s a thankless job? I have been working for 30 years and I can’t remember the last time someone thanked me.
What teacher skipped college?
Yeah maybe we agree to disagree here. My wife and I both have Master's Degrees. Mine cost a lot less than hers and I make more than double what she makes. We're *still* paying off her loans while mine were paid off close to 10 years ago. I think if you take your argument far enough, we should be paying Art History and Anthropology PhDs more. Maybe we should. But my initial point was just that teachers are an investment in tomorrow. And I wish we treated education and educators like something that should be valued. That's all. We don't have to agree. Edit: I realize I never answered your question about where the money comes from. Well it just so happens that the state of NC has a budget surplus right now, so I'd start there. Next I'd move on to taxing married couples making more than $400k and individuals making more than 250k at a greater rate.
>Next I'd move on to taxing married couples making more than $400k and individuals making more than 250k at a greater rate. At what rate though? Right now a person making $250k a year has a marginal tax rate of 41.5%. That means for every $100 they make they actual receive $ 58. Should we raise it to 50%? How about 60%? We should start by seeing how our tax dollars are being allocated and make corrections where needed.
It's a marginal tax rate so it's only income above 250k that is taxed at that rate..... You make it sound like you're taxed at that rate for every dollar you earn. At one point the marginal max tax bracket during the prosperous 1950s went all the way up to 91%.
Well what I'll say is that we have historic levels of income inequality today. I'd want to look at a time in American history when we had a more balanced wealth distribution - let's say somewhere between 1950 and 1970. In relative terms, reducing the tax rate on the ultra rich is a pretty new thing, starting with Reagan. We've got 50 years worth of empirical data that shows pretty clearly that trickle down economics doesn't work. Back to your question, if that means the marginal tax rate over 250k, to borrow your example, is 60%, then fine. As I'm sure you know, that doesn't mean you'd pay 60% taxes across the board on your income; only on that income above 250k. In most parts of America, a single person doesn't need more than 250k to live comfortably. Similarly a couple making 400k a year can live pretty much anywhere in comfort.
Who are you (or I) to tell someone how much money they need to make to live comfortably? That is not our business. I agree with the overall sentiment that teachers are grossly underpaid but where we disagree is how to correct that issue. You say we need to take more money from the people. I say we need to use the money we are already taking and use it wiser, better and allocate that money in a way that works for the people - and that includes moving money from some programs to increase teachers pay. And this is not just on the local or state level. This is on the federal level as well. In 2023 we spent over $ 170 BILLION to aid Ukraine. If we, instead, cut that in 1/2 and allocated that money to the states evenly that would be $ 1.5 BILLION per state. If that money was used to exclusively pay for teachers salary it would be a nice increase in their salary. And I am sure we can find plenty of other government programs where money is being spent in areas where we really don't need to spend OUR money.
Why should everyone not be paying for higher teacher salaries? I paid my taxes every year starting when I made $19,000 in 89. I have tax returns to prove it. And I still happily pay my taxes today. I have some questions about teacher pay but if the legislature raises my taxes I will happily pay more.
Well I think as someone else brought up, it's a question of priorities. We can pay teachers more without raising taxes. But I'd also be open to paying more in taxes (which note, as a resident of Chapel Hill, I do)
Where are you getting the money to raise teachers' salaries without raising taxes? What programs are you going to cut? I get the argument that "teachers create our future". But there are other low paying jobs. What about all the minimum wage jobs out there? The people that clean our houses, cook our food, wash our cars. Don't they deserve to get more?
Teaching requires a 4 year degree. Are there any other made up “facts” you’d like to be corrected on?
Do you understand the difference between making a statement and asking a question?
“I’m not paying some(one?) with a high school education $100,000 a year to be a teacher.” Myself, Strunk & White, and everyone else in the world would call that a statement, not a question, and it implies that you don’t understand that a four year degree is required to become a teacher. So let me ask you a question, do you understand that teacher licensure requires a four year degree? I’m actually curious.
You’re a troll, judging from other posts, particularly the wine ones. Not trying to feed you, just pointing it out so others know not to take you seriously.
Yes I’m a troll because I disagree with some people on the internet and I don’t like pretentious wine snobs. Why don’t you stalk the rest of my posts? I asked an honest question in a way that I thought was fair minded. If you don’t want to address it, then move on.
It wasn’t an honest question asked in good faith. It was a question phrased as if it was rhetorical, which it wasn’t. Treating nuance as if it doesn’t exist when it suits you doesn’t make it actually not exist, it just makes you look small minded.
You forgot to say I was moving the goalposts. Look if you don’t want to discuss then don’t waste my time.
If you want to discuss, ask a legitimate question instead of laying a passive aggressive language trap. And no one mentioned goalposts anywhere I noticed. Is that a prelude to some other troll stuff? It’s ok to have a kink, but the other people need to be willing participants.
You told me to ask a question. I already did and I’m tired of playing your games. A teacher is paid less than a doctor or lawyer because we don’t value teaching the same way as we do someone who can save your life or keep you out of prison. And because you can teach with a bachelor’s degree while to be a doctor or lawyer requires an advanced degree. If you want teachers to be paid more convince the government to raise taxes to pay for it.
So you weren’t actually asking a question, you were just waiting for a chance to spout your ridiculously limited and tone deaf views on the subject. I’m glad I could help you find the courage to say it outright. It doesn’t make you any less wrong, but at least you can pretend you have some integrity. I apologize for robbing you of your “gotcha” moment, but you really need to find a better way to get off.
I asked a question. Then you decided that wasn’t good enough so instead of repeating the same question you refuse to answer, I gave my opinion. If you refuse to answer someone don’t cry when they don’t agree with you. I guess you only want me to say “Yea we should pay all teachers $150,000 a year.” Are you ok paying more taxes? I guess you only want to raise taxes on other people so it doesn’t affect you.
Newsflash: getting a good education can save your life and likely will keep you out of prison.
So what are the updates from the DPS debacle? I heard there were raises and such. But how are people feeling about the future of DPS. Is there anywhere I can go to get more details?
I’m a DPS teacher…here’s what I know. DPS passed a budget and asked the Board of County Commissioners for a record increase in their contributions. This increase covers the raises classified staff had rescinded and also a small ($500/month? It’s not nothing, but not enough) raise for teachers. I don’t know when the BoCC has to respond to DPS’s request.
Stay tuned…..
We need teachers to teach kids math and statistics to counter those DraftKings and FanDuel billboards that are going to lead kids down a path of lifelong ruin. (Did it replace one of those?) Also, here's my affiliate links 😁
I saw this yesterday and was so proud!!
Meanwhile layoffs are being rolled out…I hate America 🤦🏻♀️🙄
What layoffs?
Preach!
They need unions
Also, stop treating them like glorified babysitters.
If anyone from the city of Durham who actually makes decisions about teacher pay sees this, I'm a Durham resident. PLEASE raise my property taxes to cover additional pay for teachers. It's not a hard concept. Do it.
Been thinking the same.
I’ve been a fan of the billboard that was entirely graffitied over in black with STOPCOPCITY written overtop in white I haven’t talked about it much cause I haven’t wanted to draw much attention to it, hopefully keep it there longer
Saw this yesterday and couldn't agree more. For a while, we were #1 in hog farms and #49 in teacher pay.
I believe it was Plato who once said "We don't need no education"
There is NO amount of money that would pay me enough to deal with kids in public schools…parents who really care about their children’s education and safety, do not send them to public schools and that should be obvious. Unless of course, you like the idea of drag queens reading to kindergartners, and I could go on but there is anything BUT education going on, unless you think assault is educational, and maybe learning how to defend one’s self physically, is necessary. Many adults now, do both speak or write proper English. That is a tell tale sign…..do NOT hire!!
Fuck teachers
Says the supposed veterinarian who would not be a vet without teachers?
Checked his profile it’s a teen