Bentonville ranks highest for first-time teacher pay
Posted on Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Bentonville School District is paying Arkansas’ highest salary for a beginning public school teacher this year at $ 42, 230, according to a state Department of Education spreadsheet showing salaries paid in the 245 school systems.
The average starting salary in the state for a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree and no teaching experience is $ 31, 631. The minimum salary required by state law is $ 29, 244.
Springdale comes in second in the salary rankings with $ 41, 757 as the starting salary. Fayetteville ranks third with a starting salary of $ 41, 310. Rogers comes in at fourth with $ 41, 300.
While the highest salaries are in Northwest Arkansas, the salaries in the West Memphis and Marion school districts in east Arkansas — which compete with Memphis across the Mississippi River for teachers — come in at fifth and sixth in the rankings. The starting salary in West Memphis is $ 39, 300, and in nearby Marion, the beginning salary is $ 38, 605.
In central Arkansas, Conway is ranked 11 th with a starting salary of $ 36, 506. Cabot is ranked 20 th with a salary of $ 35, 550. Little Rock is ranked 78 th at $ 32, 227; North Little Rock is ranked 84 th with a salary of $ 31, 900, and the Pulaski County Special School District is ranked 103 rd at $ 31, 251, according to the Education Department compilation.
The North Little Rock School Board, however, recently approved a proposed salary of $ 32, 389 for a 192-day teacher work year, which will change the district’s ranking when the data is updated.
The Education Department data show that Springdale pays the top salary, $ 70, 257, for their most experienced, best-educated teachers. Typically, such teachers have a doctorate, or a master’s degree, plus 30 or more hours. Fayetteville ranks second with $ 70, 176.
The highest salary in each district must be at least $ 41, 130, by law. The state average for top salaries this school year is $ 48, 708.
The top salary for the Little Rock district is $ 62, 780. In North Little Rock, the top salary is recorded as $ 61, 045, and in Pulaski County Special it is $ 65, 292.
In Conway, the top possible teacher salary is $ 64, 405. In the Bryant School District, the top possible salary is $ 61, 622.
Data for every district is available by accessing the “Teacher Salary Analysis” link on the Education Department’s Web site: http: // arkansased. org / communications / reports. html.
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