As inflation drags down the value of a paycheck, Alabama teachers are hoping lawmakers will give them a pay raise again this year.
If that happens, teachers will have gotten raises five out of the past six years.
But have the increases been enough to keep up with inflation? What does teacher pay look like these days? What is the average teacher salary in Alabama’s school districts?
Read more Ed Lab: What’s in Alabama’s $8.8 billion education budget.
There are two ways to look at teacher pay: one by looking at how a teacher’s pay increases over time and another is to look at the average teacher salary over time. AL.com did both.
AL.com used the state minimum salary schedules for this analysis, though some school districts, typically those with strong tax bases and local taxes devoted to schools, pay substantially higher amounts.
Have pay increases kept up with inflation?
Using statistically valid methods to account for the value of money over time, AL.com found that most teachers who were working 10 years ago make more money now, in real wages, than they did a decade ago.
But, while teachers have gotten frequent pay increases over the past several years, inflation means that real wages remain relatively flat. Recent 2% and 4% pay increases dissolve quickly against roughly 5% inflation since the pandemic.
Many teachers make more than the state minimum. Additional stipends were not factored into this analysis.
Some teachers have the ability to earn bonuses and stipends based on additional credentials, the subjects they are certified to teach and whether the school is considered challenging or hard-to-staff.
Teachers with advanced degrees such as a master’s degree or doctorate are paid from a higher salary schedule.
All teachers with National Board Certification are paid an additional $5,000 each year. Across the state, 156 board-certified teachers in schools with high poverty who teach certain subjects earned an additional $5,000 per year.
Under the Teacher Excellence and Accountability for Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) program, math and science teachers in grade 6-12 are paid from a higher salary schedule. That pay scale ranges from $48,558 for new teachers with a bachelor’s degree to $98,622 for teachers with 27-plus years of experience with a doctorate.
And TEAMS teachers who are board-certified -- who may have already qualified for two $5,000 bonuses mentioned previously can earn yet another $5,000 if they teach in a “hard to staff” school.
Average teacher salary by district - 2022-23 school year
National comparisons typically look at a state’s average teacher salary, but the average teacher salary conflates teachers with years of experience and teachers with advanced degrees.
In other words, higher average pay could be a reflection of a more experienced, higher-degreed cohort of teachers. It could also be a reflection of a teacher working in a wealthier district that pays higher amounts than the state’s minimum salary schedule.
For example, Alabama’s minimum starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $43,358.
Mountain Brook City Schools’ starting pay is $45,735 and Homewood City Schools’ starting pay is $45,281.
Orange Beach City Schools appears to pay the highest starting salary in the state at $46,297. The district is in its first year of operation after breaking away from Baldwin County Schools in 2022.
AL.com calculated average teacher salary for each school district and charter school in Alabama using data from the Alabama State Department of Education.
Statewide, the average teacher salary is $56,723, up from $52,920 last year. The average teacher has been teaching for 12.3 years, slightly more than last year’s 12.2-year average.
Additional stipends were not factored into the analyses here. No administrator salaries are included in the averages. These amounts represent gross pay before deductions or benefits. Benefits add another 18% to 20% to total compensation.
Among traditional school districts, Orange Beach City Schools has the highest average salary at $70,460 and Talladega County has the lowest at $46,117.
Among Alabama’s public charter schools, University Charter School in Livingston has the highest average salary at $63,458 and LIFE Academy in Montgomery has the lowest average salary at $44,362.
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