Q&A of the Day – Teacher Benefits vs. Private Sector Benefits
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Today’s entry: Hi, Brian. I'm wondering how much paid vacation time teachers have in a year. Thank you
Bottom Line: The topic of teacher pay in Palm Beach County came to a head yesterday as an impasse hearing to settle the ongoing dispute between the CTA and the Palm Beach County School District took place leading to a 3.5% raise for the district's teachers.
As I’d mentioned in my Top 3 Takeaways yesterday, teachers in Palm Beach County earn an average of $69,300 per year, or 22% more than the number from the state that’s been bandied about. It’s a number that’s close to the national average that sits at about $72k (especially with the county’s proposed raise which would result in average pay above 70k). There had been an impasse between the teacher’s union, the CTA, which originally had demanded a 4.8% raise for PBC’s teacher's while the Palm Beach County School District had offered up raises of 1.5%.
Notably, the district has been hemorrhaging students as other South Florida school districts have been doing as well. In fact, there were about 6,600 fewer students in Palm Beach County’s schools at the start of the school year, year-over-year – with that number having grown to over 7,000 as of February. With federal and state funding tied to head count, what the decline in student populations mean is $66 million less in funding. The need for fewer teachers and the budget crunch led to a reduction of 765 school district employees entering this school year. With the 3.5% increase in compensation having been approved additional layoffs are likely going forward. It’s worth mentioning that the average full-time income in Palm Beach County is approximately $55k per year, or about 25% less than what teachers make before a raise. And that takes us to today’s Q&A, which speaks to another dynamic that’s often discussed when private sector comparisons are made. Benefits.
Florida averages 180 instructional days per year. There are variances based on school district, but they’re generally small. Teachers work an extra five days beyond the instructional calendar. The extra days are generally teacher workdays, time for continuing education, etc. So, how does that compare to other professions? The average full-time employed person works 245 days, or 60 additional days than does the average teacher. Or, in other words, teachers work 23% fewer days than the average private sector professional.
What’s more is that the average benefits package for teachers includes comprehensive health insurance and separate contributions to the Florida Retirement System valued at approximately 40% of one’s base salary. This compares to 19% for the average private sector professional. In other words, total compensation for the typical full-time employed person in Palm Beach County is approximately $65,500. The average total compensation package for the typical teacher is about $97,000 annually for 23% fewer days of work.
As I stated yesterday, a debate can still be had about what appropriate levels of compensation should be for teachers and whether the CTA demanded raise of 4.8% or the PBC School District offered raise of 1.5% is most appropriate, however first the facts should be established which is not something I’ve not seen occur with any news reporting other than what I’ve covered over the years. This has often placed me in the crosshairs of teachers – which isn’t inherently my intention to do. As always there are two sides to stories and one side to facts. These are facts and the basis for any honest conversation regarding this topic.