The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-01-25
SALARIES OF SCHOOL TEACHERS

SALARIES OF SCHOOL TEACHERS
The Times-News believes the people OF
the State should have all available accu-
rate information about the affairs of gov
eminent in North Carolina. This newspa-
per seeks, in so far as its limited space Will
permit, to give its readers this information
from time to time. A live subject OF dis
cussion at present is the public school sys-
tenn, its management, costs, salaries OF
school teachers, and related matters. Here
is information on the salaries of puohc
school teachers in the form of a statement
from the North Carolina Education AsSo-
citation, based on the report Of the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction to the
General Assembly. The argument is made
by the Association in behalf of its own
members, but the figures are from report
of high State official, and, of course, are
to be accepted as absolutely correct. These
figures show what the State is paying the
public school teachers. The statement is
as follows:
According to the new report of the State Super
intendent of Public Instruction to the General AS
sembly the total amount paid out in salaries to
teachers and principals for the past year, which
was the first year under the cuts instituted by the
1881 legislature, was S17,687,265.
This of course, is huge sum of money, but It
was divided among 23,29O people, so the average
annual salaries of the whole group including prin-
cipals and supervisors and teachers both black and
white, amounted to only $84759.
whit
teachers, principals and supervisors in the state
paid out of public funds. We paid these white
teachers and principals total of $14,72O,585.
The average annual salary of this group was
$S59.5O or $71.68 per month a II months basis.
Page of the report of Director of Personnel F. l..
Dunlap, which has just been made to the General
Assembly shows that the 992 people on the state
pay roll, on boards, commissions, in departments
and elsewhere, including everything from the ne
gro janitors and messengers and elevator operators
to the highest paid state official, drew average
of $1,625 year. If they are cut 80 per cent from
that salary as has been suggested by the budget
bureau the average annual salary of all of these
officials stenOgraphers and negro employees would
be $1,2O5.
The teachers make no protest against the salaries
these people draw. They merely think that if this
group is worth this much in their service to the
state, they certainly rendering a service thai
should be worth $71.6S per month.
On page 5 of Appendix of this same report it
is found that the monthly salary last year of one
of the employees of the state listed as a cook was
$6933. If this cook got his board at the place he
cooked, as is the usual custom, ne had consider
ably better job, so far as financial remuneration is
concerned, than did the average white teacher in
North Carolina
Again the teachers are not contending that the
salary of the cook is too high, but again they be-
leve that if the service this cook is rendering the
state is worth $69.39 a month, their service i.
worth $71.68. Should the legislature put into eff
feet the schedule of reductions suggested bv the
budget bureau that is the salaries of teachers and
principals be reduced Is per cent and 50 per cent
of the salary of others based on the 1881 schedule
find that the average annual salaries of the
white teachers and principals will be $6O93 pei
month, and the salary of the cook mentioned above
will be $61.sS, for the cook in 1881 was drawing
$91 month. This does not take into consideration
the "perquisites' that usually go along with ;
cooks job, the lack of these perquisites' which
do not go along with the teachers job
The report of the commissioner of personne
lists 81 classifeations of positions with the STATE
Highway Commission. The report says that it i
Impossible to give accurate picture of the aver
age yearly salaries of this group of people because
of the short periods of employment for various
groups the amount of work to be done deciding thu
length of time various people in the different elias
sifcations are kept
The average annual salaries of the people in thu
different 81 classifcatiOns ranges from $1,7S75E
to S2,270.
Again emphasis is placed on the fact that tht
school people of the state do not think these ex
korbitant salaries for the class of people that have
to. be employed, and the amount of training thu
majority of the people in these class6eations hav
to have. Many Of them are college people, gradr