Has Economic Reality Hit Education?

Last week several interesting articles about education appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the New York Times.  Locally, Henrico County might hire more teachers in response to complaints over large class sizes.  The NYT reported a significant decline in the number of recent graduates applying to the Teach for America program.  This program places recent graduates in inner-city schools.  Reflecting an improving economy, Teach for America has advised some school districts that its applications are down about 10%.  Additionally, the NYT‘s article indicated participation in undergraduate education programs is down about 13%.  For some districts, Teach for America supplies as much as 20% of teaching staff.

Salaries in education have been nominally stagnant for many years.  Since I retired at the end of the 2008-09 year,  my former colleagues at the Governor School have experienced only one increase of 2% which is in-line with the general trend of teacher salaries.  Utilizing the Bureau of Labor’s inflation calculator, an individual making US$40,000 in 2008 would need a nominal salary of US$43,981 to maintain the same level of purchasing power. At what point will politicians and educrats understand that promising employees a diminishing standard of living is not a business model that assures success?

– Les Schreiber