Ever more first-year teachers get $50K At least 17 districts agree to such pay Friday, November 16, 2007 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff Two decades after New Jersey passed a law setting the minimum teacher pay at $18,500, a rising number of school districts are passing a salary milestone for their rookies: $50,000. Starting in Westfield schools last year, at least 17 school districts have agreed to pay $50,000 or more for their first-year teachers with a bachelor's degree, the career ladder's lowest rung. Six districts are providing at least that much this year, including Rahway, Summit and Westfield in Union County. Another six will offer it next year, and five more the year after. The latest addition came from Morris County Vocational Schools, where a new agreement set pay for a first-year teacher at $50,599, according to the state's teachers union. "And there's probably another dozen in the pipeline, too," said Robert Willoughby, assistant director of research for the New Jersey Education Association. The NJEA in the last year has made the $50,000 mark the focus of a public relations -- or, more important, labor relations -- campaign titled "$50K The First Day." It followed the union's previous push to lift starting pay over $40,000, aptly named "$40K Right Away." That last campaign apparently did pretty well in negotiations over the past five years, with 522 of the state's 600-plus districts this year surpassing that $40,000 mark and the average starting pay statewide rising to $43,393, according to union. The statewide average salary for all teachers is $60,937. Not surprisingly, the state school boards association is not as quick to promote the milestone, pointing out that each district negotiates its contract and salary scale based on its needs. "We don't think it's a magic number at all," said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. "It really needs to be a matter of negotiation, not a one-size-fits-all. ... For districts in need of hiring teachers, they may be putting more money at the bottom of the scale." He pointed out that the 1985 law setting the $18,500 minimum sent reverberations throughout New Jersey's public schools, essentially lifting educators' pay -- and the cost -- across the board. As the state grapples with rising property taxes and its own budget deficit, Belluscio said any external pressure to raise salaries could be problematic. "We went through the mandate once, and it had really negative ramifications." By contrast, the NJEA celebrates the $18,500 law's signing on its Sept. 9 anniversary each year. And the union sees its work still ongoing, with 70 districts under the $40,000 minimum. (The lowest is Spotswood, the NJEA said, where teachers start at $33,540 this year.) "And $50,000 is still not the right number," said Willoughby. "We want the best and brightest to be in New Jersey schools. That's the ultimate goal." The union cites a slew of comparable jobs that start in the same range, although the holders of most such positions work longer than the 10-month year for which teachers typically are paid. Engineering and software jobs on average start in the low to mid-$50,000s, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' annual survey. Accountants and those in financial fields start in the high $40,000s. A handful of school districts elsewhere also have broken the barrier, including several on Long Island and even Cheyenne, Wyo. "Fifty thousand dollars is really not that much money," said Rose Carreto, president of the Elizabeth Education Association, which won a $50,500 minimum for its starting teachers, beginning next year. She said $50,000 was a mark they wanted to hit as they entered the last negotiations. "Being an urban district, it really does make us more attractive," she said. Others said it wasn't an explicit goal but rather the natural product of inflation. "I don't think we set out to be higher than $50,000, but once we ran the numbers, it almost came by accident," said Michael Seiler, president of the Westfield Education Association. "But once we realized where we were, we wanted to keep it there, because we want to continue to attract good people." John Mooney may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548.