BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
Depending on who you talk to, when it comes to teachers’ salaries in Middlesex County, either the “you get what you pay for” or “money does not mean quality” philosophy applies.
In Edison, for teachers with a median length of experience of eight years, the average salary for a is $58,640, the highest in the county.
Officials’ explanation is simple.
“You get what you pay for,” said Business Administrator Daniel Michaud. “We pride ourselves in providing quality education and that is concentrated in the classroom. So, no, we don’t skimp on teachers. We want to attract the best, and we do.”
Edison district Assistant Superintendent Rose Traficante agreed, but had her take on the subject.
“What I look at are a couple of things,” Traficante said. “First, I think our teacher salaries are respectable, but not so at the top of the mark throughout the state that people are rolling their eyes. And, I think we can afford to pay at that level because we maintain a phenomenally low administrator-student ratio.”
The administrator-student ratio in all the district’s elementary schools, is very low, no matter how high the count of students, Traficante said.
She pointed to Menlo Park Elementary School, where there were 788 students in 2003-04.
“There is one administrator in that school,” Traficante said. “The state average is 313 students per administrator. In every one of our elementary schools, we are getting that sort of favorable return.”
The Lindenau elementary school has a student body of 512 and one administrator.
“Wherever you look, our ratio is way above state average,” she said. “Even at the lower end, such as Herbert Hoover school, which has 403 students and one administrator. It still compares phenomenally to the state average of 313 students per administrator.”
Traficante added that while administrators are very important in a district and she feels Edison’s are top-notch, they are also “effective by being cost-effective.”
Research shows that, more than anything, “a good teacher makes a tremendous difference in a the achievement profile of a student,” she said. “We follow that statistical trend and concentrate our spending in the classroom. Our administrators are also high-quality, so we don’t need a high number of them.”
In Spotswood, where teacher salaries are the lowest in the county, officials said they have no choice but to scrimp and save in a poorer district where aid does not keep pace with rising demands.
“The expectations from Washington continue to rise, but the money is not there to pay for the added services,” said Board of Education President Alan Bartlett.
The median salary for a teacher in Spotswood with an average of nine years’ experience is $41,453.
There are five districts in Middlesex with lesser average teacher salaries with the same experience than Edison and seven that have higher average salaries than Spotswood teachers.
But school budgets in Spotswood are “routinely defeated,” Bartlett said.
For the past two years, the district has had to cut its discretionary spending by 10 percent each year, he said.
“Textbooks are considered discretionary,” Bartlett said. “This is what we’re dealing with.”
Health-care costs have risen more than contractual salary raises and local aid in Spotswood has stayed at 45 percent when the state average is 50 percent, Bartlett said.
And state aid in Spotswood has leveled off at 22 percent when the average in the state is 42 percent, he said.
The district tries to compensate for lower teacher salaries by keeping its staff content, said Bartlett.
There are a lot of district teachers with seniority because once teachers get a job in Spotswood, they don’t want to leave, he said.
And enrollment keeps rising. Last year alone, 58 students were added.
“The turnover rate is very low — about 9-10 years,” Bartlett said. “There is something to really be said for that. And a lot of students come back here to teach. These averages actually reflect the mix of very new, young teachers with a very experienced senior staff. The combination of the experience of the older and the energy of the new staffs is great, and it also makes the average salary appear lower.”
While Edison’s average teacher salary is the highest in the county, its demographics reflect higher incomes of residents. Budgets in Edison are rarely defeated.
In Spotswood, the story is one of a district not being able to function above its means without added help from the state or taxpayers.
It’s a matter of what a district can afford, not what it thinks teachers deserve, said Spotswood officials.
And they think they get high quality for the comparatively little money doled out in salaries.
“Obviously, the board of education and the administration are proud of their teaching staff,” said Superintendent Tony Vaz. “The accountability of a great staff is evident in testing results as is the quality teacher-student relationship.”
Vaz said that all one has to do is look in the student parking lot after dismissal to see that students are involved and dedicated because they are inspired by the staff. “When you look in the lot, you get a good, comforting feeling to see 75 percent of the cars still there after hours,” he said.