A Lesson in Economics

Teacher raises have been highly publicized in Iowa, but not so much has been said about administrators salaries. For instance ICCSD Superintendent Lane Plugge, whose teachers received a 5.4% raise, received a 7.5% raise which put him in the $163, 400.

With the number of teachers rapidly reaching retirement age, the salaries will undoubtedly change as schools are forced to raise salaries to compete for more teachers, but that is not today.

Today, according to the Gazette, the average salary of Iowa's full-time public school teachers was $43,713 in the 2006-07 school year, up 19.8 percent since 2000-01, according to a review of Iowa Department of Education numbers. The average pay of principals rose 22.6 percent in that same time period, to $77,765 last year.

State Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said he was aware of the pay disparity [between teachers and administrators] but said it's simply a matter of supply and demand."I don't think it has anything to do with fairness," he said. "I think what it has to do with is competition. Whether you agree with it or not, it's what you have to pay in order to get a highly qualified person in charge."

Iowa Teachers - Half Way There

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- The Iowa House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation that would lift Iowa's teacher pay to 25th in the country.

The legislation was a key goal of Statehouse Democrats, including Gov. Chet Culver, who campaigned on a promise to increase teacher salaries.

"This is a good bill, one that sends the message that ... we value the contributions of our educators in the classroom," said Rep. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, the bill's floor manager.

Lawmakers approved the increase on a 90-7 vote.

The House approved a few technical changes, which means the bill will return to the Senate, where it was approved by a wide margin earlier in the session.

Gark statistical questions: I know this makes teachers #25 in the nation in terms of dollars to dollars, but in terms of quality of life and cost of living, are teachers in Iowa actually lower or higher in national ranking? For instance, if a school teacher in New York City averages $5o,000 a year salary, but their cost of living is 2 times what the cost of living here, wouldn't teachers "real" rank here be higher?