THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS ©
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Report on Teachers Salarics in Schools of Kansas for the Year 1942-1943

Karly in January 2a letter from the University's School of Education to
county superintendents in the state requested that a copy of each county 'school
directory', listing salaries of individual teachers, be provided for use in making
an analysis of teachers' salaries. In response to this request, 43 directories were
received. Several county superintendents replied that their school directories were
not yet available.

Six of the directories received did not report individual salaries for any
teachers. Many others listed names but not salaries of teachers in high schools and
neither names nor salaries of those teaching in city schools. Such limitations in
the sources of information hsve restricted both the number and the size of tabula-
tions which could be made with reference to the salaries of teachers.

If salaries were stated on an annual basis, they were translated to a
monthly basis for the purposes of this report. Separate tabulations were made of
salaries for elementary and high school teachers and for high school principals.

So generally are elementary school principals merely head teachers with a small
additional salary (except in larger city schools) that they have for the most part
been classified in this report as teachers. But there are elementary school prin-
cipals in the state, and not in city districts, who receive salaries of $250 to $300
per month.

It is not known precisely how well the facts presented here represent the
situation in all schools of similar type in Kensas, but it is probable that the
sampling is sufficient to make the salary facts highly indicative. Indeed, if these
facts are regarded as reasonably representative, then they are disturbing. For it is
hopeless to the point of simple delusion to expect to secure or hold competent
teachers for s2larices which are gravely inadequate when better employment is abundant.

Many schools are necessarily either accepting inferior teachers and inferior
teaching or else they are exploiting good teachers. There are hundreds or probably
thousands of teachers in the state whose monthly salaries are lower than the weekly
wage of many semi-skilled artisans in nearby industrial plants. The average monthly
salaries of elementary teachers, high school teachers and high school principals are
from five to twenty-five dollars below what they were for similar positions in this
state twelve years ago (1930-31) -- and they were by no means adequate at that time.

At the present time there mey be no educational service which a county
superintendent of schools can render that is more important than guarding the quality |
of work in our schools by urging salaries which make possible attracting and holding
teachers that assure quality of work. In general, low salaries attract cheap teachers
and cheap teachers usually turn out to be expensive in terms of the inferior service
provided by them. If school boards were enabled to sce that an additional fifty
dollars per month would buy much more of teaching competence and pupil achievement
in the person of a superior teacher, it is probable that the teachers selected and
the salaries paid would reflect their understanding of what is true economy. .

 

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