INSTITUTE INDEX: Shortchanging the South's schools
North Carolina teachers marched in Raleigh for higher pay and better school funding this past May. (Photo by Anthony Crider via Flickr.)
Percent pay gap between teachers and other college-educated workers across the United States: almost 20
Number of Southern states where the pay gap between teachers and other college-educated workers is more than 20 percent: 8*
Average teacher salary in the United States as of the 2017-18 school year: $60,477
In Georgia, the highest in the South: $59,185
In Mississippi, the lowest in the South: $45,497
Amount of their own money the average Mississippi teacher spends on classroom supplies each year: $406
When calculating how much money to allocate for teacher raises in 2019, number of teachers the Mississippi state legislature forgot to include: 9,834
Amount of money the state will have to find to make up for the mistake: $18.5 million
Amount spent on public education per student in the United States, as of 2017: $12,201
Average amount Southern states spend per student, as of 2017: $10,039
North Carolina's national ranking in terms of money spent on public education per student: 45
Average percent pay raise North Carolina teachers were promised this year in the governor's proposed budget: 9
Pay raises North Carolina teachers have seen thus far due to legislative gridlock over the budget: 0
Amount of new funding the Texas state legislature allocated to education in a landmark bill passed in June: $6.5 billion
Number of Texas teachers who rallied at the state capitol against a provision in the final version of the bill that allows school districts to link pay raises to performance: 350
Number of Southern states where there were organized teacher actions — including strikes, protests, or walkouts — in 2018 and 2019: 6
Number of Southern states where teacher pay has increased since last school year: 10***
Number of Southern states where it is illegal for teachers to strike: 10****
* Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana
** Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
*** Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
**** Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia
(Click on figure to go to source.)
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Olivia Paschal
Olivia Paschal is the archives editor with Facing South and a Ph.D candidate in history at the University of Virginia. She was a staff reporter with Facing South for two years and spearheaded Poultry and Pandemic, Facing South's year-long investigation into conditions for Southern poultry workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also led the Institute's project to digitize the Southern Exposure archive.