Forty-five percent of public school teachers say they are satisfied with their salary, while 55 percent say they are not, according to data from the 2015-16 National Teacher and Principal Survey, a nationally representative sample of teachers and principals in the 50 states and the District of Columbia that’s conducted by the U.S. Department of Education.
Teacher pay has been at the forefront of the widespread walkouts, protests, and demonstrations in several states this spring.
Eighty-two percent of teachers who were satisfied with their salaries agreed that they are satisfied with their jobs, compared with 70 percent who are dissatisfied with their salaries. Similarly, 80 percent of teachers who are satisfied with their salaries “like the way things are run at [their] school,” compared with 67 percent of teachers who aren’t satisfied with how much they make.
Teachers who think they make enough are also less stressed and more enthusiastic about teaching than their peers who are dissatisfied with their paychecks.
