AP Poll: 78 Percent Say Public School Teachers Aren’t Paid Enough

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ap-poll-most-americans-say-public-school-teachers-not-paid-enough

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly believe teachers don’t make enough money, and half say they’d support paying higher taxes to give educators a raise.

The findings of the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research come amid recent teacher strikes and other protests over low pay, tough classroom conditions and the amount of money allocated to public schools in several Republican-led states.

 

Tens of thousands of Arizona teachers voted last week to strike after rejecting an offer of a 20-percent raise, because it didn’t include a vow from state lawmakers not to further cut taxes before providing more money for the state’s schools.

“To educate children and barely get a living is obnoxious,” said Elaine Penman, a company manager in Tucson, Arizona, who added she and others went outside to cheer on protesting teachers who were marching by.

She’s among the 50 percent of Americans who say they’d pay a higher tax bill if it meant more money for teachers.

“I’m a parent and I benefit directly from what teachers do,” said Penman, who has two children in traditional public schools and one in a charter school.

In 2016-2017, the average salary for a public school teacher was $58,950, down slightly from the previous year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

 

Overall, 78 percent of Americans said that’s not enough. Just 15 percent think teachers are paid the right amount, while 6 percent think they’re paid too much. In a 2010 AP-Stanford poll, 57 percent of Americans said they thought teachers are paid too little.

Americans in states with the lowest average teacher salaries — less than $50,000 a year — were slightly more likely to think teachers were paid too little and that the national average should be an important factor in determining salaries.

The AP-NORC poll found that parents and those without children are about equally likely to think teachers are paid too little. It’s a sentiment that crosses party lines, too. Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats, 78 percent of independents and 66 percent of Republicans think teacher salaries are too low.

Slightly more than half of Americans — 52 percent — also approve of teachers leaving the classroom to strike in their search for higher pay, while 25 percent disapprove. Among those who say they’ve heard about the recent teacher protests, 80 percent say they approve of such tactics.

The recent run of teacher protests began in March in West Virginia, where teachers won a raise after going on strike. The strategy soon spread to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado and Arizona, where educators joined together online and have held increasingly frequent protests during the past six weeks.

 

The poll found that 51 percent of Americans have been paying at least some attention to the protests. People living in states with the lowest teacher salaries were more likely to have heard about the protests than those in states with the highest teacher pay.

Americans believe state and local governments share responsibility with teachers and their unions for the disruptions caused by the strikes. Vernita Grimes, 68, of the District of Columbia, said teachers aren’t making enough money for the work they do and she supports them having the right to strike, “even though I know kids are losing valuable teaching time.”

But Caitlyn Scott, 27, of Kent, Ohio, said teachers are earning “about what they should,” and she opposes strikes by teachers.

“I think they kind of committed to being there for the entire school year,” she said.

Half of Americans would be willing to shoulder the cost of paying teachers more and providing more money to schools via higher taxes, with only 26 percent opposed. But while 69 percent of Democrats say yes to higher taxes for schools, only 38 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of independents say the same.

 

People living in urban areas are more likely than those in rural areas to support such a tax increase, 57 percent to 40 percent.

Stephen White, a high school teacher in Marysville, California, said raising taxes is “probably the only way” to pay for teacher raises. “Look at states that cut taxes and some districts had to go to four-day school weeks.”

That had happened in Oklahoma, where teachers staged a nine-day walkout earlier this month to protest the level of classroom funding.

White said he used to be anti-union when he worked in the private sector, but changed his position when he became a teacher. He said salaries don’t take into account all that teachers do, especially outside the normal school day.

“The private sector makes double what we do,” he said. He acknowledged that strikes are disruptive. “We don’t like that, but sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures.”

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,140 adults was conducted April 11-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

5 hours ago, Amica Nostra said:

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/ap-poll-most-americans-say-public-school-teachers-not-paid-enough

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans overwhelmingly believe teachers don’t make enough money, and half say they’d support paying higher taxes to give educators a raise.

The findings of the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research come amid recent teacher strikes and other protests over low pay, tough classroom conditions and the amount of money allocated to public schools in several Republican-led states.

 

Tens of thousands of Arizona teachers voted last week to strike after rejecting an offer of a 20-percent raise, because it didn’t include a vow from state lawmakers not to further cut taxes before providing more money for the state’s schools.

“To educate children and barely get a living is obnoxious,” said Elaine Penman, a company manager in Tucson, Arizona, who added she and others went outside to cheer on protesting teachers who were marching by.

She’s among the 50 percent of Americans who say they’d pay a higher tax bill if it meant more money for teachers.

“I’m a parent and I benefit directly from what teachers do,” said Penman, who has two children in traditional public schools and one in a charter school.

In 2016-2017, the average salary for a public school teacher was $58,950, down slightly from the previous year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

 

Overall, 78 percent of Americans said that’s not enough. Just 15 percent think teachers are paid the right amount, while 6 percent think they’re paid too much. In a 2010 AP-Stanford poll, 57 percent of Americans said they thought teachers are paid too little.

Americans in states with the lowest average teacher salaries — less than $50,000 a year — were slightly more likely to think teachers were paid too little and that the national average should be an important factor in determining salaries.

The AP-NORC poll found that parents and those without children are about equally likely to think teachers are paid too little. It’s a sentiment that crosses party lines, too. Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats, 78 percent of independents and 66 percent of Republicans think teacher salaries are too low.

Slightly more than half of Americans — 52 percent — also approve of teachers leaving the classroom to strike in their search for higher pay, while 25 percent disapprove. Among those who say they’ve heard about the recent teacher protests, 80 percent say they approve of such tactics.

The recent run of teacher protests began in March in West Virginia, where teachers won a raise after going on strike. The strategy soon spread to Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado and Arizona, where educators joined together online and have held increasingly frequent protests during the past six weeks.

 

The poll found that 51 percent of Americans have been paying at least some attention to the protests. People living in states with the lowest teacher salaries were more likely to have heard about the protests than those in states with the highest teacher pay.

Americans believe state and local governments share responsibility with teachers and their unions for the disruptions caused by the strikes. Vernita Grimes, 68, of the District of Columbia, said teachers aren’t making enough money for the work they do and she supports them having the right to strike, “even though I know kids are losing valuable teaching time.”

But Caitlyn Scott, 27, of Kent, Ohio, said teachers are earning “about what they should,” and she opposes strikes by teachers.

“I think they kind of committed to being there for the entire school year,” she said.

Half of Americans would be willing to shoulder the cost of paying teachers more and providing more money to schools via higher taxes, with only 26 percent opposed. But while 69 percent of Democrats say yes to higher taxes for schools, only 38 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of independents say the same.

 

People living in urban areas are more likely than those in rural areas to support such a tax increase, 57 percent to 40 percent.

Stephen White, a high school teacher in Marysville, California, said raising taxes is “probably the only way” to pay for teacher raises. “Look at states that cut taxes and some districts had to go to four-day school weeks.”

That had happened in Oklahoma, where teachers staged a nine-day walkout earlier this month to protest the level of classroom funding.

White said he used to be anti-union when he worked in the private sector, but changed his position when he became a teacher. He said salaries don’t take into account all that teachers do, especially outside the normal school day.

“The private sector makes double what we do,” he said. He acknowledged that strikes are disruptive. “We don’t like that, but sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures.”

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,140 adults was conducted April 11-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

 

I think everyone would agree

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

1 hour ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

 

I think everyone would agree

Well, 78 % of everyone anyways

[Boiler 45,482]

Perhaps every school could set up a GoFundMe, just seems a collection issue.

[Póg mo 1,749]

13 hours ago, Boiler said:

Perhaps every school could set up a GoFundMe, just seems a collection issue.

You obviously don't have any children attending public school, because if you did, you'd know that schools constantly have to raise funds for everything. 

[Boiler 45,482]

35 minutes ago, Póg mo said:

You obviously don't have any children attending public school, because if you did, you'd know that schools constantly have to raise funds for everything. 

Sounds very inefficiently when 78% people they come across so willing to contribute.

[charmander 692]

To give a perspective of how much teachers make in highest and lowest paying states.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/states-highest-lowest-teacher-salaries.html/

 

[bcking 3,157]

38 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Sounds very inefficiently when 78% people they come across so willing to contribute.

Except that is unlikely the question that was asked.

 

The question was probably worded along the lines of "Is the current salary for teachers appropriate?"

 

I doubt they asked "Would you be willing to give more money to increase the salary of teachers?". You probably wouldn't get 78% saying yes.

[Boiler 45,482]

Quote

She’s among the 50 percent of Americans who say they’d pay 

Ok so half, seems a collection issue. Apple pay? There are so many options.

[Póg mo 1,749]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

Sounds very inefficiently when 78% people they come across so willing to contribute.

Yes, it is very inefficient. Teachers shouldn't have to be constantly raising money to fund class room supplies. Why wouldn't it make sense to have schools purchase school supplies in bulk, rather than expecting every parent to purchase from a list?  The school would benefit because they would be able to better negotiate with suppliers, and the parents would hopefully be a little less stressed out. 

[Boiler 45,482]

I have been and am involved with obtaining donations.

 

My experience is that the difficult bit is getting people on board,  contacting the right people who can make the call.

 

Seems here that is all done, collection should be simple. OK you will get some who make promises and do not follow through but when you have such larger numbers will to contribute that should not be a material issue.

 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

Ok so half, seems a collection issue. Apple pay? There are so many options.

Here is an option: we could just step up as a group and agree that funding public education is consistent with our values as Americans and fund teachers at a living wage.

[Keith & Arileidi 437]

23 minutes ago, Amica Nostra said:

Here is an option: we could just step up as a group and agree that funding public education is consistent with our values as Americans and fund teachers at a living wage.

Living wage is too little. 

Why would a talented STEM student choose teaching over engineering.

 

I like to pursue my passions but one of my passions happens to be eating. Lol

Edited April 24, 2018 by Keith & Arileidi

[Boiler 45,482]

24 minutes ago, Amica Nostra said:

Here is an option: we could just step up as a group and agree that funding public education is consistent with our values as Americans and fund teachers at a living wage.

Would you consider 50% of the US population a big enough Group?

[bcking 3,157]

3 minutes ago, Keith & Arileidi said:

Living wage is too little. 

Why would a talented STEM student choose teaching over engineering.

 

I like to pursue my passions but one of my passions happens to be eating. Lol

Teaching will never attract people through salaries. In a capitalistic society there will always be many more lucrative jobs for people who are intelligent. 

 

No way around that without socialism and that is clearly the devil's work.

 

EDIT: 

Though keep in mind that with a 10% reduction in military spending we could double our education budget.

Edited April 24, 2018 by bcking