PG interim superintendent scheduled to leave early

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, the PG gig is the better financially, because MOCO only pays $12,000 more per year, but housing is triple that. So, if you teach in MOCO, you make 12k more, but it will be way more expensive for you to find housing near your work. If you are single, you'll be able to rent an apartment in MOCO. If you're single in PG, on the $60k, you'll be able to buy a house in a nice area (as I did) or if you don't want to buy, you can afford to rent a house or a bigger apartment and actually have money to travel. In MOCO, that salary won't get you far.

Of course, you could work in MOCO and live in PG, but then you're commuting more and spending more in gas.

So considering cost of living, that $12k more you get to teach in MOCO doesn't amount to much.

I don't spend 12K a year in gas, though. I can live here in Hyattsville but work in Silver Spring, or even commute to Arlington. Doesn't cost anything like $12K to commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And no, it's not longevity. I know of one example of a person who teaches in pg and makes in the 60s and is still pretty early in her career.

At about 7 years in, someone working in PG county would be earning $61,000 with a masters degree. But in Montgomery County she'd be earning $10K more.

[Anonymous]

I really do not think it is a teacher problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And no, it's not longevity. I know of one example of a person who teaches in pg and makes in the 60s and is still pretty early in her career.

At about 7 years in, someone working in PG county would be earning $61,000 with a masters degree. But in Montgomery County she'd be earning $10K more.

Well, I don't think you can say that. Those are salary averages, spread across elementary and high schools. a person *without* a masters making mid-60s in pg teaching 1st grade might not make much more in MOCO.

you're making a lot of assumptions (like, for example, the teacher has a masters, which isn't an assumption you can make).

My point is, the pg salaries are competitive and are pretty good for the COL of the area. The problem isn't that the teachers are so terribly underpaid (Baltimore City is another story, where the average is much, much lower.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, the PG gig is the better financially, because MOCO only pays $12,000 more per year, but housing is triple that. So, if you teach in MOCO, you make 12k more, but it will be way more expensive for you to find housing near your work. If you are single, you'll be able to rent an apartment in MOCO. If you're single in PG, on the $60k, you'll be able to buy a house in a nice area (as I did) or if you don't want to buy, you can afford to rent a house or a bigger apartment and actually have money to travel. In MOCO, that salary won't get you far.

Of course, you could work in MOCO and live in PG, but then you're commuting more and spending more in gas.

So considering cost of living, that $12k more you get to teach in MOCO doesn't amount to much.

I don't spend 12K a year in gas, though. I can live here in Hyattsville but work in Silver Spring, or even commute to Arlington. Doesn't cost anything like $12K to commute.

No, it doesn't cost 12k to commute, but commuting from hyattsville to arlington is rough. And again, you don't know how those moco salaries are distributed. the elementary teacher without a masters probably makes close to the same teaching in hyattsville or SS.

The average is less than 10k. My point is, that's not a huge difference, especially given the much higher COL of MOCO. I don't think the pay is the driving factor in whether a teacher chooses MOCO over PG. I think that perhaps a bigger issue is how they are supported by the administration, et cetera, and that varies by school. some PG schools aren't as crowded as some MOCO schools. Of course, I imagine some MOCO schools might have a more supportive administration.

But again, it's not the pay. There isn't a big gap. Not to mention, the Howard county average is about the same as PG! And Howard county schools are rated highly, have high scores.

The answer to improving PG schools isn't necessarily increasing teacher pay, because I don't think that their pay is low relative to other counties.

[Anonymous]

meant the average is less than 10k difference.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher and have teacher friends in different DC area counties, and I can tell you that among the reasons excellent teachers are not choosing to work in Prince George's county, a big one is that the salary scale is lower.

All of my educator friends have Master's degrees. If someone in the DC area has been teaching over 7 years, chances are good that they have an advanced degree.

Simply raising salaries will not solve any teacher quality problem with current teachers, but raising the salary scale for experienced teachers would make the school district more attractive to them as they choose between counties. Better recruitment practices would help as well.

[Anonymous]

When weighing different counties to work in, teachers aren't immune to the perceptions of the pg county anymore than anyone else. If we think it is hard to attract teachers it is likely due to negative perceptions versus a $10k difference that would be wiped out once you consider cost of living in surrounding areas.

I am more concerned about getting effective administration in place and if we can finally get a super who cares more about effecting change than padding their resume or pocket.

[Anonymous]

I am not a teacher, but I do have friends that teach in several local school districts (Howard, PG, AA and MoCo and Harford). The pay is not the only reason for them to seek out teaching positions in other school districts. A number of them do not like the atmosphere in the schools and the lack of support. There is a "blame the teacher" attitude in PG county schools that is difficult. Behavioral problems are not handled well from the administrative side and teachers are often caught between a rock and a hard place between doing what is right to maintain order in their classes vs what the school wants them to do. And for the ones that teach in higher grades, frankly, they are scared because there are a larger number of violent students in the high schools. Yes, the unfortunate perception is based on race, but it is a perception that decreases the number of applicants for work in our school district.

The one teacher I know who is in PG County schools, took the job because she could not get a full-time position in other counties. She's still applying to positions in other counties and would jump ship if an offer came through. I have two friends who live near me in Laurel who quit elementary school positions in PG County, to teach in a school in Glen Burnie. To be fair, the first one got in and then later when another position came open, she recommended our mutual friend who was then hired.

We have and had some good teachers. We need to listen to the teachers about what they need and support them so that we can retain the good ones. It is not all about the pay. And considering the financial situation of the county, I think we should look at other means to try to attract and retain teachers before pay. That's something that can be revisited after we make the employment situation more attractive.