Feds Give Arizona Teachers a Raise, Bailing Out the Cheapskate State

The grant, secured by the Maricopa County Education Service Agency, was one of 13 awarded nationwide as part of a federal program to improve teacher recruitment, retention, and quality. Arizona's grant was the second largest, beaten out only by Louisiana's.

Arizona ranks 48th in teacher pay among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, ahead of only North Carolina, Mississippi, and South Dakota. Statewide, the average salary in 2015 was $45,335, according to the National Education Association, compared to a national average of $58,525. (New York, which ranked No. 1, paid its teachers an average of $78,835.)

And it has been getting worse. In 2015, teacher pay in Arizona was 8 percent less than it was in 2004, according to the Arizona Office of the Auditor General. Salaries slid more than $1,000 between 2010 and 2015 alone — despite the fact that teachers, on average, now have more experience and are responsible for wrangling larger classes.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/feds-give-arizona-teachers-a-raise-bailing-out-the-cheapskate-state-8690635