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Report: Mid-career teachers struggle with paltry salaries

LA School Report | August 8, 2014



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Center for American ProgressMid-career and late-career teachers are not earning what they deserve, nor are they able to gain the salaries that support a middle-class existence, concludes a new report on teacher salaries from the Washington-based research group, the Center for American Progress.

Even mid- and late-career teachers in states with some of the high salaries are grappling with the cost of living, the report says. Citing California,  it found that the average salary for a teacher with 10 years of experience and a bachelor’s degree is $51,400, which is significantly higher than the majority of mid-career teachers’ salaries in other states. Yet this salary is unsustainable in California’s major metropolitan cities.

California’s teachers, including those at the highest step of the pay scale have low purchasing power when it comes to feasibly affording a home in urban areas. Not only are these mid-career teachers facing limited housing options, but the cost of groceries, transportation, and health care in these areas is also above the national average and taking a toll on teachers’ paychecks.

Read the full report here.

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