Teachers play a key role in shaping the future of individuals and society by educating and inspiring the next generation. We entrust them with the tremendous responsibility of nurturing and educating our children. Other than parents, few people have more influence in our children’s lives.
Teaching isn’t just a 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM job. It requires commitment to plan, to work “off the clock” to prepare lessons, grade papers and perform various school support and mentoring activities. For decades in Ohio, teachers were required to obtain their master’s degrees. The law changed 10 years ago, so many Forest Hills School District (FHSD) teachers have master’s degrees. For those that entered the profession more recently, most invest personally in ongoing learning about state-of-the-art teaching methods to ensure their continued efficacy in the classroom.
In 2023, our teachers agreed to a one-year contract. This year, they’re looking to negotiate a standard 3-year contract as the district has traditionally supported in previous years.
Salary comparisons and the cost of living
“You get what you pay for” is an age-old adage that applies to many professions, but in the case of FHSD teachers, it doesn’t really apply — we typically get more than we pay for. Our district rates among the State’s highest in performance and among the lowest in the area in education cost per student. The nationwide cost of living increases have hit our educators hard over the last few years as our last contract sailed for a 2% increase (2023 contract signed with FHTA) while the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the cost of living (COLA) grew 5.9% in 2022 and 8.7% in 2023. While inflation is now slowing, it still exceeds the 2023 increase. Over time, we cannot expect quality teachers to absorb these kinds of cost increases without a more considerate response than the 2023 contract.
FHSD is fortunate to have so many experienced teachers — both in educating the students and mentoring the next generation of FHSD teachers. Our reputation enables retention of excellent education professionals and the ability to attract the best next generation candidates. That combination keeps our schools and classrooms fresh and vibrant. Nearly 60% of our teachers are also district residents, paying residential taxes towards the very district in which they work. They also patronize local businesses, keeping those dollars in the community. Many teach here for their entire careers, leaving lasting impressions.
An appropriate raise in teacher salaries will help attract and retain high-quality educators in the profession, ultimately benefiting students and the community as a whole.
Supply and Demand
A national shortage of teachers has become a crisis hitting almost all states and our state and region are not immune. Nationally, Ohio ranks ranking 37th out of 50 states. USA Today advised 86% of all districts struggled to hire.
The Economic Policy Institute drafted a detailed article on the rising gap of demand to supply of teachers.
A 2023 Dayton Daily News article told the local story … “Southwest Ohio struggling to find teachers, state report shows”
The Ohio Administrative code states that, except as otherwise provided in various rules, the ratio of teachers to students district-wide shall be at least one full-time equivalent classroom teacher for every 25 students. Forest Hills just makes that requirement today.
In contemplating the teacher contract, Board members must also weigh the cost of teacher turnover. Employee turnover costs any business money, and education is no exception. The Learning Policy Institute, a think-tank that examines various educational issues, estimates that teacher turnover costs school districts between $20-$30,000 in added hiring, training and substitute teacher costs, a number similar to other organization’s estimates.
FHSD Teachers deserve a fair contract that reflects both the realities of today’s economy and, from the Board’s perspective, our tradition of educational excellence and relative value compared to other local districts. Finding the right balance between the two will continue our strong educational performance, maintain relative cost per pupil advantage compared to other local districts, and avoid unnecessary and costly turnover. Our teachers have historically been up to the challenge, based on our current state performance, cost rankings, and the 2011 salary freeze teachers agreed to during the latest recession.
Those who wish public schools were run more like businesses should take note that according to a CBS news article citing several resources, “employers plan to offer an average salary increase of 4% for 2024, according to a new survey from WTW, which advises companies on compensation issues”. That figure is slightly lower than in 2023, when raises averaged 4.4%, but still tops the roughly 3% increase companies were offering in previous years, the consulting firm found.
To be clear, this is not a one-sided argument. The FHSD Board needs to consider Statewide budget pressures stemming from our broken funding model and an increase in private school vouchers has blown past the estimate, now at nearly $1B will only pressure Ohio districts further. However, state leadership is not within the control control of teachers, and our elected leadership is in desperate need of being reminded that school funding is imbalanced; responsibility to address this happens at the voting booth, not at the salary negotiating table.
Policy Matters Ohio, a non-profit policy research institute whose mission is to “create a more vibrant, equitable, sustainable and inclusive Ohio through research, strategic communications, coalition building and policy advocacy” puts the impact of private school vouchers diverting public education funding in perspective via this, blog post on their website:
We are very fortunate to live in a great school district, built that way over years of commitment to the community, determination, fairness and collaboration. Our total quality metric for financial management is well represented in our per-student spend — which includes teacher salaries — remains below average for Ohio while still producing better than average student outcomes. Our Board would do well to negotiate a fair adjustment for our highly respected and highly qualified teachers, taking into consideration reasonable cost of living adjustments, the teacher shortages across the nation, and additional expenses incurred when teachers need to be backfilled due to attrition. In addition, the salary increase was forecasted and included in the levy passed by the community in May of 2023, which many teachers dedicated their own time to campaign for, and many voted for as residents.
To take action, email the FHSD school board. Write them about your support for the increase in teacher pay in alignment with our community goals of retaining our amazing teachers, supporting continuity in our classrooms, and ensuring our district remains a legacy district. To send an email, write the Board of Education at board@foresthills.edu.
