NEA Ranking of Florida Teacher Salaries Hugely Misleading

If you listen to the National Education Association, Florida teacher pay has fallen to No. 37 among 50 states and the District of Columbia -- and it's falling further.

The average teacher salary in the Sunshine State last year was $46,708; the national average, $55,202. Poor Florida teachers, the union laments.

An NEA report released last week estimates Florida's average 2010-11 teacher salary will drop to 47th on the list, behind every state in the Southeast and ahead of only Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah.

But, wait a minute here.

The teachers' union report is a politically charged, one-dimensional and, frankly, misleading document. Why? Because it fails to take into consideration the conditions, assets and liabilities for teachers in each state.

First, a bad national economy has been worse in Florida, reflected in its 12 percent unemployment rate. Raises for teachers, given at district level, reflect the dismal state of affairs county by county.

Florida teachers nevertheless enjoy huge pluses the teachers' union fails to consider.

Taxes: There is no state income tax here. None. That means teachers in Florida keep a higher percentage of their paycheck than they do almost anywhere else in the country. And only five states have lower taxes overall than Florida. Ask yourself, where would Florida teacher salaries rank if the union had factored in taxes?

Cost of Living: With so much of the agriculture industry represented here, the cost of food is cheaper in Florida than in most other states. The warm climate keeps the cost of clothing down. And personal quality-of-life choices such as vacationing are still considerably cheaper for Floridians, who have ready access to beaches, theme parks, sports facilities and other amenities.

The union's rankings measure one set of numbers. That's a start. But if they attempted to measure the state-by-state ability of teachers to live comfortably, they would make a more accurate comparison and do teachers a real favor.

The median salary in Florida, incidentally, is $44,000. The average teacher makes more than that.

Come to that, the median salary is $35,000 for administrative office managers, $38,000 for store managers, $30,000 for administrative assistants, $55,000 for software developers,and $59,000 for project managers. Teachers fall in the middle. That may not be where Floridians want their teachers to be, or where teachers deserve to be, but it is a reality that compares well to the rest of the nation.

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