In most professions, the best employees are generally  paid more than average employees.  But in education, that is not the case.  Why?  Don’t you want to be paid more in your job than a co-worker who is not as productive?

Public school teachers work under a collective bargaining agreement that locks in salaries for teachers based on tenure.  That is, the longer you work, the higher your salary, regardless of other factors. In 2008, average teacher salary in Indiana was $48,508 according to the National Education Association, or about $32 per hour.

Is longevity a fair or prudent way to compensate teachers?  Each spring when local school districts wrestle with budgets and dire warnings are made about firing teachers (many of whom are ultimately brought back), the first on the chopping block are the newest teachers.  It has been highlighted recently in the Indy Star that some of the best and brightest, but also newest, teachers in Indianapolis Public Schools were going to be let go, preserving jobs for longer serving teachers who may not have been as effective in the classroom.

That seems like a crazy way to run any organization, but especially one that is responsible for the education of 90% of students in Indiana, and thus ultimately should be accountable to the taxpayers of this state.

Certainly money is not the only motivator.  Teaching is a calling for many, and more money alone would not automatically make someone a better teacher.  But its human nature to want be rewarded for doing a good job, and it seems any compensation system should consider some measure of performance.

As Indiana continues on its journey of reform and change, perhaps the time has come to have a real discussion about how we as a community want our educators compensated. Shouldn’t the best be paid more?