Officials in the western Florida school district spent US$26 million to hike teacher pay, and used federal stimulus funds for US$2,000 bonuses for special education teachers. But it wasn’t enough to fill the void in the classrooms.Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
“From a bondholder perspective, the risk is longer term,” said Cooper Howard, director at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. “If this problem continues to trend and there’s a decline in enrolment, schools are usually funded on a per-pupil basis, so that would be potentially where the risk is.”
Schools in Duval County, Florida, are still facing a shortfall of 348 teachers and 59 support staff. The gap is wider than last year, when 316 teachers and support staff were needed, despite the district boosting annual teacher starting salaries to US$47,500 from US$45,891 a year earlier. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, schools used a portion of stimulus money to add more positions, with the goal of reducing class size and meeting students’ educational needs. But the increase in positions means the number of teacher vacancies jumped to 180 this year from 30 a year ago. Still, the district said, it is faring better than other larger districts in the state.Article content
The teaching profession has grappled with a labour supply issue for years. Over the last decade, the number of teaching degrees and certificates conferred fell 27 per cent in science and mathematics education and 44 per cent in foreign language education, according to a March report by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.Article content
If we think teachers are under paid in Canada. The USA pays teachers just above the poverty line.