Teachers underpaid? Some say they are overpaid

SALT LAKE CITY — The Equity Project, a publicly funded charter school in New York City, operates on a simple assumption: Student success depends on excellent teachers.

"Teachers are the key" says school founder Zeke Vanderhoek in a promotional video for the school, often referred to as TEP. To attract top talent, Vanderhoek has taken a unique approach. TEP teachers are given a starting salary of $125,000 with an opportunity to earn an additional $25,000 in merit pay. TEP wages are impressive considering that first-year teachers in New York City earn about $46,000 and midcareer professionals earn around $64,000. The school has caught the attention of education reformers around the country. Will TEP attract better teachers? And more importantly, will student performance improve because of it?

While it is too early to judge the merits of TEP's approach, the school's methods have reignited a national debate about what teachers are paid. Supporters of increasing teacher pay include U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and former First Lady Laura Bush. "Higher wages are necessary to attract good teachers. We need to recognize and reward excellence," Duncan said in a recent interview with MSNBC. His philosophy resonates with many Americans: A 2011 Poll Position survey found that 56 percent of Americans believe teachers should be paid more.

But a November 2011 report turned that conventional wisdom on its head. Teachers are actually overpaid, says the report, compiled by Jason Richwine and Andrew Biggs for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Teachers are compensated 52 percent higher than their peers in the private sector, the report found. Given the above-average total compensation public school teachers already receive, Richwine is skeptical that increasing salaries will improve the quality of teaching candidates. "If the current compensation bonus teachers receive has not elevated the quality of our workforce, further cross-the-board increases will have little benefit," he said.

And though the debate over how much teachers should be paid is predictably fierce, there may be reason to believe both positions are correct. "Teachers are both over- and underpaid" said Michael Van Beek, director of education policy for the Michigan-based Mackinac Institute, a non-partisan think tank. Paid too little?