Western Nebraska Taxpayers Association

8-29-09

Mike Groene
Chairman Western Nebraska Taxpayers Association

I commented on the politics of Governor Heineman’s recent teacher pay raise stance to the Star on August 3rd.  Correctly I pointed out that the federal stimulus money should have been used to save existing jobs not pad the pay of political supporters in the NSEA.  In Governor Heineman's June 9th letter to the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) he advocated to the teacher’s union that they work with school boards to use the $234 million in educational stimulus to “increase teacher salaries to ensure they are competitive with surrounding states”.  

On July 2th Jess Wolf president of the NSEA agreed in the North Platte telegraph with the Governor on the use of stimulus money for pay increases when he stated “That is exactly what providing competitive salaries for teachers will accomplish”. 

In a complete reversal of his pay raise stance, Mr. Wolf stated in an August 18th letter that “Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have said repeatedly that the education stimulus dollars are to be used to prevent job losses in education”.  So which is it Mr. Wolf? Did congress stipulate stimulus use for pay raises as the governor and you earlier advocated or correctly should it be used to save existing jobs?

After presenting the fact that here in North Platte 69 (21%) of our teachers are paid over $60,000, Mr. Wolf falsely claims I begrudged them their pay. Finally, at least Mr. Wolf and the NSEA have admitted that Nebraska taxpayers do pay experienced teachers well. After 16 years on the job, a North Platte teacher in their thirties can reach a salary of $65,705.  You decide:  With Nebraska’s low cost of living; is a non managerial job paying $65,705, with health benefits, a mostly taxpayer funded defined benefit retirement, and only 187 required work days a good Job? 

Mr. Wolf continues to falsely claim that the average starting teacher salary in Nebraska is $27,147.  According to Bob Beecham, Data Services Administrator at the Department of Education in Lincoln, the average starting salary last year for over 1000 full time first year teachers in Nebraska was $32,408. An example; Lincoln Public Schools starting salary this year is $36,008.

Wolf’s comparison of Nebraska and Wyoming’s teacher pay is to borrow a phrase from Mr. Wolf comparing chickens to apples.   Nebraska has a stagnant population base and declining economy, high income (6.8%) and property taxes. Wyoming on the other hand has a booming economy, a growing population and has no income tax and a third of our property tax burden.  Free market factors that are not present in Nebraska have driven up Wyoming’s teacher pay. Unlike Wyoming, Nebraska schools have had no trouble filling school positions. I truly hope that our Governor, legislators and school boards are not making public education spending decisions on faulty information presented to them by Mr. Wolf and the NSEA.

No railing of begrudging from this taxpayer, just the facts.

Best regards,
Mike Groene