Other Deficiencies of the Single Salary Schedule
English as a Second Language
Hearing Impaired (Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 12)
Mathematics (Grades 7 -12)
Spanish
Speech and Language Impaired (Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 12)
Special Education (Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 12)
Vocational Subjects Even though these shortages are well-known, the single salary schedule prevents us from adjusting salaries for these fields to attract more college graduates, or to encourage existing teachers to 'reskill' and move into new, higher-demand positions. When my company needs to hire skills that are in short supply, it offers 'hot skill' bonuses and higher base salaries. In the Information Technology department, for example, we pay more for technical experts in Data Analytics, and Mobile Application Development -- two hot fields in the life insurance business. And the extra pay helps us fill the jobs more quickly so that our company can meet its business goals. In higher education, a field that has much in common with K12 education, It is telling that our public colleges and universities pay different wages for each academic discipline, with market forces playing a significant role in determining faculty salaries. For example, at research Universities, there are wide pay differentials for full professors, according to a recent industry survey:
The single salary schedule ignores real differences in supply and demand among teaching positions
The single salary schedule prevents the market from adjusting to supply more teachers for STEM and Special Education roles
The single salary schedule prevents administrators in diverse school districts from rewarding teachers for taking assignments in difficult schools. This can lead to a less experienced and less effective teaching team in high-need schools. (Not an issue for us in UCFSD.)
The single salary schedule can decrease the quality of teachers in higher-demand positions
The single salary schedule does not encourage pursuit of the highest quality continuing education
The single salary schedule is an obstacle to retaining the best teachers in the profession