Hub teachers get big-buck bump
More than 1,400 Boston teachers are raking in $100,000 or more a year in pay, a Herald review found, a nearly tenfold increase in that number since 2011 that one watchdog warns is not “sustainable” for the city’s finances.
The bump has pushed the average salary for a city teacher to $90,467 — among the highest in the country, a school official said.
“That’s a lot of money,” former state Inspector General Greg Sullivan, research director at the Pioneer Institute, said of the hefty salaries. “It’s the simple explanation for why the school budget has gone off the rails. ... The city and teachers union need to be realistic. It’s not affordable. Not sustainable.”
In 2011, 153 city teachers were paid $100,000 or more, representing nearly 4 percent of the 4,264 teachers on the payroll, according to Sullivan.
Six-figure earners jumped to 1,419 last year, representing 32 percent of the 4,367 teachers on the books — with city payroll data showing 265 more topped $100,000 due to arbitration settlements, stipends and extended learning time pay.
The rise in teacher salaries comes as the city and the Boston Teachers Union continue to negotiate a new deal that expired last summer. The proposed $1.06 billion school budget for next year includes $20 million extra to cover union negotiations.
The district also carries a costly — up to $15 million a year — “excess pool” of tenured teachers with no classroom to report to. An extra $4,500 per teacher was paid out to 600 educators last year to extend the school day at some locations.
“I think the city and the union have to be mindful of the fact that the budget for the school department has to be affordable to the city,” Sullivan said. “It is a public policy consideration to find ways not to have excessive growth. We’re paying so much more than 10 years ago for the school department and that is not attributable to more teachers.”
School officials were quick to defend the soaring salaries.
“We greatly value our teachers and recognize the tremendous impact they have on improving students’ lives,” said school spokesman Richard Weir. “That’s why we are committed to building a teaching force that is among the most talented in the country. We believe strongly that our educators should be compensated like the professionals that they are.”
Union President Richard Stutman linked the growing salaries to the need to retain “very well-trained” teachers who may look to other careers or school districts. And, he added, pay raises are something the union is demanding during current contract talks — to meet cost of living increases.
“The main reason why people are getting paid higher salaries is our people tend to have credentials above what is necessary to work,” Stutman said. “It is needed to attract and retain people. ... We’re competitive and I think the city is doing well.”
Sullivan said the high pay can’t go unchecked.
“It’s very surprising to see the $100,000 mark becoming part of the atmosphere in the school system,” he said, “and it’s not going down anytime soon.”
The news of teacher pay comes as Mayor Martin J. Walsh last week announced the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, which represents more than 1,500 officers, agreed to a fouryear contract that increases pay by 16 percent, or $68 million, and its initial increases will be paid for by new tax revenue in the city.