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Teacher Pay Raise Looking Shaky

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 May 2006, 21:00 CDT

By Gary Scharrer, San Antonio Express-News

May 2--AUSTIN -- Opposition by Texas teacher groups to a modest pay raise puts "a big question mark" on the Senate's ability to pass such legislation, Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said Monday.

The state's four teacher groups contend that public school teachers, who have not received a state pay raise since 1999, need at least a $3,000 across-the-board increase.

Shapiro is trying to squeeze a $2,000 across-the-board raise in a special legislative session almost exclusively aimed at cutting school property taxes. That would give teachers less than $30 a week extra in take-home pay.

Opposition by teacher organizations to a $2,000 pay raise is "absolutely crazy," Shapiro said.

"They want us to vote 'no' on a teacher pay raise? That's what they are asking us to do," she said. "They are opposed to it, which means they are asking us to vote 'no.'"

Some Democratic lawmakers are not likely to support the plan because they also believe it sells school funding short.

Shapiro said some Republican colleagues, frustrated that teacher groups are not grateful, are telling her, "If they don't want it, why are we giving it to them?"

Teachers are not giving up, said Richard Kouri, spokesman for the Texas State Teachers Association.

"What we are saying to them is, 'Let's do it right,'" Kouri said.

Texas public schools have 53,000 classrooms without properly certified teachers even as the state enjoys an $8.2 billion budget surplus, he said.

"If they can't do a $3,000 pay raise now, then when?" Kouri asked.

Teacher organizations also reject a proposed $1,000 pay raise based on performance and incentives but told the Senate Finance Committee that they could support such an idea if teachers first get a $3,000 across-the-board raise.

"I don't think they speak for the average teacher in this state," Shapiro said later.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst also questioned whether teachers' advocates in Austin were in tune with their rank and file.

"Every teacher that I've talked to over the last several weeks appreciates what we're trying to do to help improve public education and to say thank you to our good teachers," he said.

But Tyler Smurr, an eighth-grade science teacher at Boerne Middle School South, said he agrees with the teacher groups.

"A $2,000 raise is not enough," said Smurr, citing national surveys showing that Texas teacher pay is nearly $7,000 below the national average. "A $2,000 raise is a weak attempt to make things right for Texas teachers."

National rankings don't adjust for cost of living, and if they did, Texas teacher pay would rank near the top, Shapiro said.

However, other national surveys show Texas ranks last among all states when comparing Texas teacher pay with the average pay for comparable skills in the private sector, Eric Hartman of the Texas Federation of Teachers told lawmakers.

Smurr, in his fifth year as a teacher in Boerne, said teachers deserve a $6,000 pay raise.

"Housing goes up, taxes go up, food goes up, gas goes up. The cost of living increases every year, and every year Texas teachers are not given any significant pay raise to keep up with the cost of living," Smurr said.

"How do they think teachers live? I understood going into teaching that I would never become a millionaire, but I had no idea the Texas government would be slowly pushing us closer to poverty levels."

With Gov. Rick Perry and other leaders casting all their attention on property tax cuts, Shapiro said she had to "pull every string just to get $1.4 billion for this (teacher pay raise) proposal. It's the best I can do at the moment."

Some legislative leaders have said they will discuss public school issues during the 2007 regular legislative session.

But that's not likely to happen, said Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, who has been in the Legislature since 1991.

"I've been through 15 years of 'We're going to improve it next session," and it hasn't happened," she said.

Though teacher groups point to public opinion polls showing support for higher teacher salaries and more investment in public education, House Speaker Tom Craddick said that "most people want property tax reduction from what we can tell, and they want more quality in their schools."

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Source: San Antonio Express-News

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