The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-11-09
TEACHERS WAGES
NOT HIGH ENOUGH
The Salary of the Average Teacher
IL Not Sufficient to Attract
Men and Women of SUI
perior Mental Worth


Men and Women of SUI
perior Mental Worth
(The following 10 one of q series
Of articles that will appear from
day to day in The Silver State on
the subject of schools)
In 1913 the average salary Of all
public school teachers, both ele-
mentary and high, in urban and
rural districts was $515. With what
feeling of elation ~, therefore,
must the teachers of the country
have examined the statistics Of the
Bureau of Education for 1918 to
find that their average salary for
that year was $635l And what
must have been their feeling in 1920
when they found that the average
salary was 1871, an increase of
SO per cent over the the salary of
1918! But after looking over a
column Of figures RELATING to liv-
ing costs and the purchasing power
Of the dollar the feeling of ella
ton and qualification no doubt sub
sided to the zero point, for they
found that the cost of living had
increased "a per cent between 1918
and 1918, and that the purchasing
power of their salary was only II
per cent of what it was when their
salary was $515. In other words,
the teachers in 1918 found that
the average salary had been re-
duced to 1886. In 1920 the pur-
chasing power of the teachers dol
lar was still less than IS per cent
of what it was in 1918, for the
cost of living had increased ex-
actly 100 per cent in seven years
and that munificent salary of 1871
was worth only $435 as compared
with what the $515 would buy in
1918.
Complete statistics for 1921 and
1922 are not yet available but
according to an estimate made by the
National Education Association the
average salary for 1922 is only
about $1,000, which without doubt
is very liberal estimate. In some
parts of the United States, especially
in the cities, teachers salaries have
been increased somewhat since 1920
but in some of the rural districts
there has been reduction, and un-
less strong efforts are made in their
behalf many thousands of country
teachers will find themselves in
worse condition than in 1918.
1t is true that the index of the
cost OF living is now about ITS as
compared with 100 seven years ago.
but it is highly improbable that the
downward trend will within the next
decade justify any reduction of
salary of the long poorly paid
teacher. The Literary Digest for
June 10, states that "all price in
dices show little change of late and
some indicate slight RISE"
When We say that the average
salary of the $4,000 public school
teachers in the United States was
1871 in 1920, and not more than
$1,000 in 1922, it must not be for
gotten how unequally the salaries
are distributed.
In 1922 the Bureau of Educa-
ton computed salary statistics for
about 43 per cent of the rural
school teachers and for about 60
per cent of the urban teachers. II
was found that in 10 states there
were teachers in one room rural
schools receiving less than $500 a
year. There were six states where
teachers in the one room rural
schools received a median salary
between $500 and $500, five states
where the median salary was be-
tween $500 and $500, and six
states where the median salary fell
between 5000 and $70O. In only
five states did the median salary
exceed $1,000. In the schools with
more than one teacher the salaries
generally were higher. In a state
where the median salary of teachers
in one room schools is between
5000 and 800, that in the two
teacher schools is between $7OO and
$500, and in the three or more
teacher schools in the open coun-
try between $500 and 5000, and in
the consolidated and country village
schools between 5000 and 81 900.
The median salary for city ele-
mentary school teachers is 1884.
In the group Of cities from $500 to
10000 population, the median sal
airy is $1,097; in> cities from TO-
900 to 10000 population, s1,24I;
in cities from $4,000 to 100, 900
population, $1,379; and in cities of
100000 or more population, $1,84s.