Let’s take a journey today. I want to discuss teacher salaries in Los Angeles, CA. This is a long post but hopefully it provides some insight into the current state of public education.

Going Rates for College Graduates

According to BankRate.com, the average starting salary for college graduates is about $55,000/year. Of course computer engineers make a little more, but that’s the U.S. average for all graduates. According to the LAUSD pay scale chart, LAUSD teachers earn around $56,000 in their first few years of teaching, which is comparable to other first year graduates. Interns are teachers who are changing professions. Usually they have degrees in other fields and are making the switch to education. Interns make roughly $48,000. You can add in benefits like retirement, health insurance, and whatnot, but it’s hard to argue that other college graduates would not also be receiving the same benefits. 

Most school districts have a payscale that works like a matrix. You get more pay per year served and also per salary point earned. Teachers can earn salary points by taking additional classes that will help them teach in their subject area. Earning salary points usually costs teachers money and requires at least six hours of study time for 1 salary point. 

Teachers who have been in the district for a long time have much higher salaries than first year teachers (as expected), but cap at $89,000/year if they stay with the district for 10 years and have over 98 salary points (or 588 hours of study). 

Depending on the district, teachers are required to spend long holidays completing courses or training. LAUSD “highly encourages” teachers to attend training the first two weeks of summer and also encourages planning time on campus prior to the start of the year. Typically, teachers work about 10 Saturdays a year in order to complete required training. Teachers are not allowed to use this training towards salary points. 

What Does it Mean for Living?

According to the most recent poverty guidelines for Los Angeles at LaAlmanac.com, the poverty line according to HUD is $66,750 on the high end and $41,700 on the low end. That means most college graduates are not making a living wage, including teachers. 

The difference is in earning potential. Even if teachers max out on salary points, they do not see any real changes in their salaries until they have served several years with the district. If a teacher has earned 98+ salary points in their first two years, they will earn about $63,000/year. After 4 years teachers can earn up to $70,000/year, but more commonly they will be earning around $57,000/year because it is often cost prohibitive to pay for 98 salary points. It is also virtually impossible to complete 588 training hours in one year.

Let’s compare: 

According to GlassDoor.com, Human Resource professionals average $82,626/year, in Los Angeles, after five years.

Marketing professionals earn roughly $92,711, in Los Angeles, after five years.

Business developers earn roughly $118,395 after five years, in Los Angeles.

Where Does That Leave Teachers?

After five years of teaching with LAUSD, most teachers are earning less than $60,000/year. Compared with other professionals five years out of college, teachers are still living below the poverty line in California.

Let’s make a budget.

According to the website Talent.com, the average taxes paid for a single person five years after college earning $60,000/year is $13,653, leaving this person with $46,347/year or $3,862/month.

Let’s begin with $3,862/month.

Item	Cost/month
Monthly take-home	$3,862
Rent in Los Angeles	$2,786
Utilities	$375
Groceries	$302.50*
Healthcare	$625*
Transportation	$408
Total Expenses	$4,496.50
Monthly Debt	$-634.50

*The averages were taken from the cost of living in California, not Los Angeles. The average cost of living in California is $46,636/year. I made a few adjustments when I could find local cost averages.

Can you live on less than this? 

Yes. You can live just outside of Los Angeles. The average rent in South Pasadena is $2,330. Lots of people have roommates. You could take public transportation. However, you cannot have student loans, a car payment, or any children, because then your finances will be in the red for a long time.

What Does it Mean for Education?

The truth is that five years after graduating college most people are in their late 20’s. Society tells us it is time to settle down and get married. That is virtually impossible for teachers in Los Angeles.

We already know many states have teacher shortages. According to NewsNationNow.com, there are currently about 100,000 educator vacancies in California. Although it’s possible to obtain a teaching credential to become a teacher, most teachers begin at the bottom of the pay scale. With LAUSD, that’s roughly $48,000/year.

We need to rethink our expectations. We should consider what we are expecting from our educators and then look at the pay scale and consider whether or not we are paying educators appropriately. States are pulling out all the stops to bring in educators, except paying them a fair living wage. 

The salary problem is just one of many. We need to urgently change the way we approach education. It is possible to create a system where teachers are paid fairly for their work. We are going to build one.