A new national salary survey provides a timely reminder that Oregon’s teacher compensation system doesn’t operate in a vacuum.

The National Education Association salary survey – along with earlier work by OSBA – gives the perspective you need while bargaining salaries and benefits.

Student-teacher ratios

The ratio of students to teachers in Oregon was the fourth highest in the nation in 2003-04, according to the NEA survey. Oregon had 20.1 students enrolled for each teacher, 27 percent above the U.S. average of 15.8. Washington ranked fifth at 19.3, and California ranked third at 20.6.

The ratio of students to teachers is not equivalent to the average class size. The NEA survey cites recent research showing that average class size in Grades K-3 is 9 or 10 students higher than the student-teacher ratio. In Oregon that would equate to 29.1 to 30.1 students in an average K-3 class.

Average teacher salaries

The average salary for Oregon teachers in 2003-04 was $49,169, according to the NEA. That figure includes salary and a six percent employee contribution to PERS retirement benefits. According to the NEA, Oregon’s salary level stood at 105.2 percent of the U.S. average of $46,752 and ranked 14th among the states.

Oregon compared with the Pacific Northwest as follows:

Teacher benefits high

The NEA survey does not directly address the level of benefits paid to teachers, but research conducted by the OSBA, the Chalkboard Project and others does.

Benefits as a general category typically incorporate a variety of expenditures expressed as a percent of salary:

In addition, districts contribute to health insurance. In 2004-05, according to the OSBA Salary and Economic Benefits survey, the average maximum contribution by school districts for health insurance was $740.63 per month per full time teacher, or $8,887.56 per year.

A study by ECONorthwest for the OSBA found that in 1999-2000, Oregon spent $346 less per student on salaries in its public schools than the national average. But Oregon spent $448 more per student on benefits than the national average. The most expensive benefits were retirement pensions and health insurance.

A study by the Chalkboard Project using 2001-02 data found that benefits cost Oregon school districts $17,684 per full-time staff member, the highest in the nation and 11 percent higher than second-place Wisconsin. Data collected by the Education Intelligence Agency showed that Oregon spent 41.2 cents on benefits for every dollar spent on teacher salaries in 2002-03, the fourth highest benefits level in the country and well above the national average of 27.3 cents.

$46 of every $1,000 for schools

The NEA survey gauged the degree of “effort” states exert to support public schools. For example, in 2001-02 Oregonians contributed $46 of every $1,000 of personal income to public schools, about 98 percent of the national average of $47.

In 2003-04, Oregon collected about $8,950 per student for public schools. That was 89.1 percent of the national average and ranked 35th among all the states. That same year Oregon spent $8,575 per student or 97.4 percent of the national average of $8,807.

Observations

Based on the above data, the following observations can be made about Oregon’s compensation for K-12 teachers, according to OSBA Associate Executive Director Ron Wilson.

• The student-teacher ratio, as a proxy for estimating class size, appears to be high in Oregon compared with the rest of the country.
• Oregon has consistently ranked 14th in the nation in average teacher salary. Over time Oregon has maintained its relative position and kept pace with the national average.
• Oregon contributes significantly above-average levels of benefits in addition to above average teacher salary, compared with other states.
• The primary cost drivers in the benefits area appear to be retirement pensions and health insurance premiums.
• Oregon’s “effort” or use of capacity to support public schools appears to be below the national average.