Tough times catching up to teacher pay, benefits

As economic hard times continue, New Jersey's teachers are looking at a trend toward smaller pay increases along with diminished benefits, according to the state school boards association.

For the current school year, the statewide average increase in teacher pay is 4.46 percent, dropping to a 4.26 percent increase for the 2011-12 school year. In the South Jersey counties of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester, the average raises are somewhat higher - 4.77 percent this school year, 4.69 percent the next.

In districts with the most recent contracts - those settled since January - the raises are even lower. For those, this year's statewide average increase in pay is 4.28 percent, and it will fall slightly over the next two years. For the most recent contracts in the three local counties, this year's average increase is 4.48 percent, rising to 4.65 percent in 2011-12.

That is a far cry from the early 1990s, when average teacher-wage settlements exceeded 9 percent, said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association.

Nevertheless, Garden State teachers are faring better than school workers on average nationally. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, elementary and secondary school salaries averaged a 2.8 percent increase from June 2008 to June 2009.

And even that is better than the paltry 1.5 percent increases on average being handed out nationally to private-industry workers, according to the labor bureau.

But wages tell only part of the compensation story. As has been the trend with workers in many fields, teachers are approving contracts that call for trimmed benefits as all education partners struggle to rein in expenditures.

"With concern over the state of the economy, government revenue, and local property taxes, school boards are negotiating cost controls of health benefits, which constitute the fastest-rising area of compensation, and they are seeking lower salary increases than in the past," said Marie S. Bilik, executive director of the state school boards association.

Bilik added that many districts also have been negotiating increases in teachers' work time to meet state and local education goals.

In Medford Township, teachers increased their workday by 15 minutes several years ago, said Gail Weisberg, a teacher and president of the local education association, which represents the teachers. For their current contract, members agreed to higher insurance deductibles and co-pays.

"Nobody wants to spend more money for the same thing, but everybody understands the economic situation," Weisberg said.

Still, others cautioned, adequate compensation is needed to keep quality teachers.

And teachers, unlike some other professionals, generally do not get such benefits as bonuses and expense accounts, said the head of the Deptford teachers union.

"We've got people leaving [teaching] in droves because they can't make enough money to sustain their families," said Mona Bennett, president of the Deptford Education Association.

Discouraged by their salaries, many young teachers head back to graduate school intending to become administrators, she said.

Nevertheless, Bennett said her members, which include other school district employees as well, were pleased with the contract they ratified in January. That agreement gives them 4.5 percent pay increases annually through 2011-12, slightly less than what they received in their last two contracts. However, the members negotiated a favorable deal on contributions to their health benefits, she said.