Pay Gap at All-Time High Gap Between Teachers, Similar Workers, at All-Time High According to the Economic Policy The male teacher wage gap is much THE Institute (EPI), the teacher pay penalty wider, standing at 27 percent in 2017. – the percent by which public school There is no state where teacher pay is educators are paid less than comparable equal to or better than that of other col- VOICE workers – is at an all-time high. When lege graduates. Nebraska State Education Association adjusting only for inflation, researchers “Eliminating the teacher pay penalty 605 S. 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508 found that teachers, is crucial to building nsea.org compared to other the teacher work- 402-475-7611 · 1-800-742-0047 college grads, were Regional Wage Gap force we need. In Volume 72, No. 7 paid nearly $350 less order to recruit and ISSN Number: 1085-0783 per week in salary in Lowest in Wyoming retain talented teach- USPS Number: 000-369 2017, or 23 percent Wyoming teachers enjoy the ers, school districts less. lowest wage gap in the nation at 3.1 need to address the Executive Director Maddie Fennell, NBCT When adjusted percent. The wage gap in Nebraska inadequacy of teach- Assoc. Executive Director Neal Clayburn Director of Public Affairs Karen Kilgarin for education, ex- is 24.3 percent. Here is the ranking er pay,” said Law- Assistant Comm. Director Al Koontz perience, and de- of Nebraska and adjacent states: rence Mishel, EPI mographic factors, Wyoming ....................3.1 percent Distinguished Fel- the gap had barely So. Dakota ................22.1 percent low and co-author of NSEA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE shrunk – 18.7 per- Iowa ...........................23.0 percent the paper with Uni- President Jenni Benson, Lincoln cent, up from 17 per- Kansas .......................23.2 percent versity of California [email protected] cent in 2015. at Berkeley Econo- Vice President Paul Schulte, Millard Nebraska ..................24.3 percent [email protected] While benefits Missouri ....................33.2 percent mist Sylvia Allegret- NEA Director Tracy Hartman-Bradley, Omaha such as health in- Colorado ..................35.1 percent to. “As we’ve seen [email protected] surance and retire- across the country NEA Director Linda Freye, Lincoln ment improved for in states like Wash- [email protected] teachers relative to ington, Arizona, and Official publication of the Nebraska State Education other professionals in that period, the total Oklahoma, teachers are tired of working Association, 605 South 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508- compensation (wage and benefit) penalty demanding jobs with low pay.” 2742. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE, and ad- ditional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address for public school teachers grew from 10.5 A poll by Phi Delta Kappan found changes to NSEA Voice, 605 S. 14th Street, Lincoln, NE percent to 11.1 percent in 2017. two-thirds of Americans believe teacher 68508. “This growing compensation pen- salaries are too low, and that the public ap- Published 10 times yearly according to this schedule: alty is a key part of the story of chang- pears wiser to reckless decisions made by September, October, November, December, January, ing teacher pay but shouldn’t obscure the lawmakers that hurt schools. February, March, April, May and August. importance of the wage penalty alone As the EPI paper makes clear, blam- Payment of annual NSEA membership dues entitles — only wages can be saved or spent on ing the Great Recession for the widening Nebraska educators to receive The Voice. Total cost of housing and food and other critical ex- teacher wage gap no longer holds water in producing 10 monthly issues of The Voice each year is less than $2 per member. penses,” said the authors. light of fiscal policies in states – including The teacher pay penalty has grown sig- Arizona, Oklahoma and North Carolina – Advertising rates available upon request. All ad- nificantly among women. In 1960, female where the teacher pay penalty is largest. vertisements and advertisers are screened prior to publication. Appearance of an advertisement in The teachers earned 14.7 percent more than The Center on Budget and Policy Pri- Voice does not necessarily imply NSEA endorsement comparable female workers, an advantage orities says seven of 12 states that cut edu- of either the product being advertised or the views expressed. that lasted through most of the 1970s but cation funding by at least 7 percent over was completely erased by the 1990s. In the past decade also enacted tax cuts for 2017, the wage gap for female teachers the wealthiest individuals and corporations was 15.6 percent. at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. Find us on Facebook at: Have Your Contact Details Changed? facebook.com/nsea.org Have you moved? Have you changed your name by marriage? Are you planning to Find us on Twitter at: @nsea_org move? If so, you can update your NSEA membership information online. Find us on Instagram at: How? Log on to the NSEA website and click on the ‘Member Info’ button on the @nsea_org left side of the screen. Then click on the ‘For Members’ link and look for the ‘Member Find us on YouTube at: Update’ icon in the center of the next screen, and follow directions. Keep your issue of NSEAMEDIA The Voice near, as the mailing label includes your membership number, used to access your information. The NSEA website is at: A Great Public School www.nsea.org On the Cover: Elkhorn Education Association’s Jake Barry taught for one year, then for Every Child. quit, burned out. After a year off, he’s back, enthused and assisting with the leadership of a new NSEA program aimed at assisting early career educators. For the story, turn to Page 7. PAGE 2 | THE VOICE | MARCH 2019 | #NSEAisKey Your NSEA President Teach Them, and Growth Will Come A wise man once said that “a bird in the hand thrive through local, structured mentoring pro- is worth two in the bush.” grams and through the informal spur-of-the-mo- If I were to equate that adage with one of my ment mentoring that happens in school building warm-weather joys, gardening, I might say that hallways and lounges every moment of every day. “a seed that’s already in the ground is worth two We can also set a new standard for mentor- seeds in the wind.” ing through LB241, now under consideration by So, when policymakers get up and make ear- the Nebraska Legislature. LB241 would set ba- nest proclamations and declarations about how sic mentoring guidelines and provide grants to their actions and ideas will “grow Nebraska” school districts for mentoring programs (learn with tax cuts, paid internships for businesses, as more on page 11). The grants would be financed well as corporate incentives, it gives me pause. using state revenue derived from solar and wind Why are state lawmakers energy agreements on the disinvesting in the “seeds” thousands of acres of state- NSEA President we already have in our rich Mentoring Available owned “school lands” in Jenni Benson Nebraska landscape, and us- Nebraska. ing some of our remaining for Early Career But we could do so tax dollars in the uncertain Educators much more… “ hope of attracting “seeds” If you are in the first seven years of that are supposedly search- Inevitable Growth A thriving, your teaching career and would like ing in the wind for a well- a mentor or instructional coaching, Let’s think about the top-notch fertilized landing spot? contact NSEA Organizational Specialist “seeds we already have in Such “grow Nebraska” the ground” here in Ne- and growing Cindy Copich at 1-800-742-0047 or at: talk is always about attract- [email protected] braska. system ing high-paying, highly Policymakers say they skilled jobs. The theory is want to “grow Nebraska.” of public that those jobs will benefit I believe we are already education will business; will spur economic growth; and will “growing” Nebraska. Enrollment is up dramati- expand the tax base. The theory is that we’ll all cally in Nebraska’s K-12 schools in recent years. provide the see our tax bills lowered and our lives improved. Student numbers in Norfolk are up by 450 since It is a laudable goal, to be sure. But as a gar- 2010. Enrollment in Lincoln is up by 8,000 stu- skilled citizens dener, I think we’re fertilizing the wrong field. dents – 24 percent! – in the past 10 years. State- of tomorrow wide enrollment is up more than 18,500 students Invest in Mentoring since 2013-14, an almost 5.4 percent growth that these That thought leads me to …. shamrocks. rate. policymakers I have a pot of shamrocks in my office. I got I suggest policymakers invest in and fertilize them when my good friend and mentor, Franc- the “growth” that is already happening here at and employers etta Gilsdorf, passed away in 2013. She most home. State and local investment in our schools treasure. definitely possessed a green thumb, and my and our own people is much more of a sure thing shamrocks remind me of her every day. She than are tax cuts and trendy business incentives was a wonderful mentor who helped me grow, that are meant to attract and keep industry, but continuing her mentorship and my growth long in the end do little more than line the pockets ” after she retired. She taught me many wonderful of corporate executives and enhance the bottom skills and methods over the years, and I often line for shareholders. think of and treasure her advice. A thriving, top-notch and growing system of Such mentorship is the unspoken responsibil- public education will provide the skilled citi- ity of every educator.