Staff Counts

Teachers

Teachers represent the largest single category of employees of public school districts, accounting for 82.9 percent of the professional staff and 51.4 percent of the total staff. See Exhibit 16 below.

Since 1997-98, teacher full-time equivalent (FTE) counts increased by 2.0 percent, compared to a student enrollment increase of 1.4 percent. Student growth rates vary across districts and grades, requiring districts at times to hire additional teachers for less than full classrooms. Statewide, a new teacher FTE is added for every 10.3 new students.

Rates of teacher increases vary with the size of the district. Districts in all size categories, except the ten largest districts, hired teachers at a rate greater than their respective average enrollment growth rates, thereby reducing their average student/teacher ratios. The ten districts with enrollment greater than 50,000 hired new teachers at the lowest rate, one new teacher for every 43.7 new students. Districts with enrollment between 1,000 and 1,600 hired new teachers at the highest rate, one for every 0.3 new students.

Support and Administrative Staff

The combined categories of administrators and professional support staff increased by 6.9 percent between 1997-98 and 1998-99, a rate significantly higher than the 2.0 percent rate of growth demonstrated in the teacher population. Campus administrative staff grew by 4.7 percent and central administrative staff increased by 4.0 percent. Professional support staff increased by 8.1 percent.

Central administrative growth rates exceeded enrollment growth rates in all but one of the nine district size categories. Excluding new charters, the greatest growth occurred in the ten largest districts. Campus administrative growth rates exceeded enrollment growth rates in all district size categories, with the largest growth rate occurring in the smallest districts. Professional support staff, a category that includes counselors, school psychologists, and educational diagnosticians, among others, increased at more than twice the rate of enrollment growth within all district groups. With the exception of new charters, the ten districts with over 50,000 students experienced the greatest growth rate in professional support staff, 15 percent, which equated to 121 full-time professional support persons per district. The 23 districts with 25,000 to 50,000 students experienced the lowest growth rate, 3.6 percent, averaging just under 12 new professional support FTEs per district. The smallest districts, which include most new charters, had the second highest professional support growth rate; however, this growth equated to less than 0.3 professional support FTEs per district.

Nonprofessional Staff

The number of educational aides increased by 6.6 percent this year. Over 58 percent of this growth can be attributed to the significant increase in aides reported by the ten largest districts (over 28 percent). In 1998-99, aides employed at middle schools increased by more than 10 percent over the previous year. Aides employed by junior high schools experienced the smallest increase among school types--2.3 percent. Historical analyses show that only a small portion of the staff employed as educational aides will advance to teaching positions. During 1998-99, approximately 2,060 teachers (less than one percent of the total teaching staff) had been employed as aides sometime between 1995 and 1998.

Auxiliary staff, the second largest category at 27.7 percent of all staff, increased by less than 1 percent this year. Auxiliary staff includes secretaries, bus drivers, maintenance workers, and cafeteria workers. The largest increase occurred in the 88 districts with enrollment between 3,000 and 5,000 students. In the districts with the greatest enrollment, the number of auxiliary staff declined.

The ethnic composition of school district employees changed only slightly from the previous school year. Minority staff increased by more than one-half percent to 36.5 percent of all staff employed in Texas public schools. This can be disaggregated to 24.5 percent Hispanic, 11.1 percent African American and 0.9 percent Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American. Among teachers, approximately 25.4 percent are minorities, an increase from the 24.8 percent minority reported for the previous academic year. Given that ethnic minorities account for nearly 56 percent of the student population, ethnic minority recruitment into education careers merits continued emphasis.

Teacher Experience

Teachers employed in Texas in 1998-99 averaged 11.8 years of total experience. Over 20 percent of all teachers have more than 20 years experience and over 44 percent have between 1 and 10 years of experience. In 1998-99, new teachers accounted for 7.7 percent of the total, a slight increase from the previous year. Teachers at high schools continue to be more experienced--12.9 years on average--compared to elementary school teachers with an average of 11.6 years of experience. The lowest average years of teacher experience exists in junior high schools--10.7 years. Districts with greater enrollment growth continue to have lower average teacher experience, indicating that new, rather than experienced, teachers are more often hired to meet the increased demand.

Teacher Credentials

To teach in public schools in Texas, individuals must earn appropriate certification by satisfying a combination of education, experience, and test requirements that vary depending upon the certification route pursued. Information about teacher certification, testing requirements, and the Alternative Certification Program (ACP) is available from the State Board for Educator Certification. This agency, created in 1996 by the 74th Texas Legislature, oversees nearly 260,000 practicing educators across the state and is responsible for all functions related to the preparation, assessment, certification, continuing education, and investigation and sanctioning of education professionals.

Education

As shown in Exhibit 17 below, the highest degree obtained by the majority of teachers in Texas (73.6 percent) is a bachelor's degree.

An additional 25.1 percent have earned master's or doctoral degrees. Although larger districts continue to employ a larger proportion of teachers with advanced degrees, the gap between large and small districts diminished again this year. The percent of teachers with advanced degrees decreased in each district size category, with the largest decrease occurring in the largest districts, a 1.7 percent decline. Overall, the percentage of Texas teachers with advanced degrees continues to decrease. Since 1988-89, this percentage has declined from 32.7 to 25.1 percent, with almost one percentage point of this decline occurring in 1998-99. Of the teachers with advanced degrees, 52.2 percent are employed in the 71 urban and major suburban districts; 47.8 percent work in the 1,032 remaining school districts.

Permits

Educators who have not yet earned the appropriate certification may be granted one of five types of permits in order to perform their assigned duties: nonrenewable, temporary classroom assignment, temporary exemption, emergency, and district teaching. Each of these permits allows a person to be employed in the public school system for varying lengths of time. All but the district teaching permit are for individuals who seek to achieve the appropriate certification but are currently lacking in some credential. The district teaching permit, which must be approved by the commissioner of education, is for degreed individuals who do not hold any type of teaching credential. The district teaching permit remains valid as long as the individual holding the permit is employed by the requesting district.

Statewide, districts report that 4.8 percent of teachers hold one or more active permits of some type. The number of teaching permits issued varies by subject area and student population served. Excluding the area of regular education, the three areas with the greatest number of teaching permits are special education, English as a second language (ESL), and bilingual education. The US Department of Education currently includes bilingual/ESL and special education among the designated teacher shortage areas in Texas. Other shortage areas are science, mathematics, and foreign language. Teachers in these areas are eligible for loan deferments or a reduction in the length of their teaching obligation under federal loan and scholarship programs.

Professional Salaries

Teacher Salaries

In 1998-99, average teacher salaries (for regular duties) increased by 2.4 percent to $34,336. Total average teacher salaries, including reported supplements, climbed to $34,949, also a 2.4 percent increase. "Total salaries" refers to pay for regular duties plus any supplemental pay employees earn for additional duties such as coaching, club sponsorships, and band or orchestra assignments. Pay for regular duties is not the same as the state mandated minimums, as regular duty pay does include local enrichment amounts districts pay above the minimum salaries specified in statute.

Most of the employees who earn supplemental pay are teachers. In the past, the difference between the teacher average total pay and pay for regular duties was much greater than it is now. In 1994-95, average total teacher pay was $1,771 greater than the average for regular duties. This difference was due primarily to supplemental pay for teachers who were on the teacher career ladder. With the end of the teacher career ladder allotment, that amount, previously reported as supplemental, became a part of a teacher's regular pay amount. This event explains the resulting significant increase in average regular duty pay that took place between 1994-95 and 1995-96. In 1998-99, the gap between teacher average total pay and average regular duty pay was $613.

A minimum salary schedule for classroom teachers and full-time librarians is specified in statute. This schedule requires that minimum salaries rise as the years of experience of the employee increase. In 1998-99, the minimums required ranged from $2,124 per month for those with no experience to $3,780 per month for those with 20 or more years of service. These monthly salary amounts are based on a standard 10-month contract.

National Comparisons

According to the National Center for Education Statistics' 1999 Digest of Education Statistics, Texas average teacher salaries ranked 35th among the states in 1997-98. The average salary for Texas teachers was 14.6 percent below the national average of $39,385. However, the salary that Texas teachers earn is closely linked to their years of teaching experience. Because the average experience level of teachers varies from state to state, average salaries will likely be higher in states with more experienced teachers. In addition to differences in teacher experience among states, cost-of-living differences explain some of the national variation. According to the American Federation of Teachers, in 1997-98 Texas ranked 36th in teacher salaries, but rose to 25th when cost-of-living was considered.

As reported in the 1999 Digest of Education Statistics, the pupil-teacher ratio in Texas remains lower than the national average--15.3 compared with 16.8 nationally in 1997-98. Texas law mandates a maximum class size of 22 to 1 in kindergarten through grade 4. The expense of maintaining smaller class sizes appears to limit the ability of Texas districts to compensate teachers with higher salaries. Of the 34 states with salaries higher than those in Texas, 24 (71 percent) also had higher pupil-teacher ratios in 1997-98.

Salaries by District Type

Analysis of teacher salaries by size and type of district indicates the greatest increase in teacher salaries occurred in districts with the greatest enrollment. The only other district size category with rates of increase in teacher salaries exceeding the state average occurred in districts with enrollment between 10,000 and 25,000 students.

Major urban districts continue to pay teachers more on average than do rural districts. In 1998-99, teacher salaries in urban districts were 11.7 percent higher than in rural districts. Cost-of-living differences between urban and rural areas explain some of this variation. Excluding charters, districts classified as non-metro "fast growing" pay the least among all district types, perhaps because they have the least experienced teachers on average.

Other Staff Salaries

Central administrator salaries exhibited a 2.6 percent increase in 1998-99, while campus administrator salaries increased by 2.7 percent, and professional support staff salaries increased by 2.3 percent. Including supplements, central administrators earn an average of $64,732, campus administrators $53,649, and professional support staff $41,933.

Overall, the combined regular duty salaries for all categories of professional staff (teachers, professional support, and administrators) increased by 2.6 percent, to $36,386, from the 1997-98 school year. Total salaries, including reported supplements, climbed to $36,943, also a 2.6 percent increase. Exhibit 18 blow depicts trends in professional salaries by category of staff since 1994-95.