Rankings and Estimates Report Finds Wisconsin Educators’ Salaries Losing Ground

According to the latest data, and despite recent gains through coordinated bargaining, Wisconsin educators’ salaries lag behind educators in the rest of the nation and other comparable professions—and the gap is widening.

The National Education Association’s newest annual Rankings and Estimates found that pay for starting teachers in Wisconsin is 38^th in the United States and that, despite increasing by 3 percent, the state’s average yearly teacher salary is $7,000 below the national average.

WEAC President Peggy Wirtz-Olsen said, “Teachers like me live to reach, teach and inspire students. But salaries are lagging behind inflation – and we’ve fallen to 38^th in the nation. It’s causing great teachers to leave the profession and that absolutely impacts our students.”

The gains that WEAC locals have made through the Fair Pay Now program, coordinated bargaining and organizing have not made up for the losses suffered in the last 12 years because of changes in Wisconsin’s bargaining law for public employees and state budget cuts. Currently, Wisconsin’s Legislature is sitting on a $3 billion budget surplus.

“Teacher pay has dropped to 38^th in the nation and many teachers can’t make ends meet,” Wirtz-Olsen said. “This absolutely needs to be solved now because all students deserve the best educators, no exceptions.”