Abstract

There is a great deal of variation in teacher salaries across school districts. This is important because districts that pay low salaries are likely to have greater trouble recruiting and retaining quality teachers. Regression analysis reveals that local supplements—payments exceeding the state minimum salary schedule—are affected by a number of important factors including the average local supplement in nearby districts, property tax wealth in a district, composition of the property tax base, teacher education, and teacher experience. The results for property wealth are of particular importance. Despite state equalization efforts, poorer districts pay lower teacher salary supplements than wealthier districts, though the difference is only moderately large.

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