This time the support for increased teacher pay is from another totally unbiased source: An ex teacher advocate writing a letter to the Minot Daily News:
The recent article about North Dakota's low teacher pay reminds me of the years I spent working as a teacher advocate. Gov. John Hoeven's excuses for these low salaries sound very much like the excuses the Republican Legislative Caucuses had then for not increasing teacher pay.
One of Hoeven's campaign pledges in 2000 was to raise our teachers' salaries from the bottom where they had been so long. Yes, extra money has been added but now it is clear that it was not enough. This recent article reported our teacher salaries rank 50th in the nation. I trust the figures compiled by the National Education Association.
I can't believe the governor is falling for the excuses used forever by the Republican majorities in the North Dakota state legislative sessions.
Minnesota's pay ranks 16th and ours ranks 50th. A short time ago a young man in my area said he was going back to school for a teaching degree, but he would be looking for a job in Minnesota.
Rural North Dakota is desperate for good teachers. My husband, a retired teacher, will be teaching science in one of these schools during the second half of the school year. The first half of the year was taught by another retired teacher. This is not the first time my husband has been recruited to come back to teaching for all or part of a school year.
The North Dakota Education Association endorsed Hoeven for governor. Now this seems be a mistake. The Democratic Party and Democratic legislators have always supported more money for education.
I believe big changes are needed in the next election. That way real issues that affect this state can be advanced in the 2007 legislative session.
The letter is by Ruth Stefonowicz of Wildrose and, frankly, sounds like a bunch of union talking points.
Yes, Hoeven broke his promise on teacher pay, but shame on him for making that promise in the first place. As I've pointed out before, why on earth should North Dakota pay its teachers according to what other states are paying? A $50,000/year salary goes a lot further in North Dakota than it does in California. Teacher pay should be a reflection of the market, not a reflection of what teachers want to get paid. Right now in North Dakota we have plenty of teachers. Many districts have waiting lists full of teachers trying to get in. Clearly, these people find the pay perfectly acceptable.
For all the reasons I mentioned here, I don't think teacher pay should be raised one cent until we can see that such a pay increase is needed to attract more qualified applicants.