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November 22, 2002
WASHINGTON -- Public school teachers in California earned the most last year and those in South Dakota the least, the nation's largest teachers union reported Thursday.
Florida rose two spots in the national ranking.
Overall, increases in education revenues and teacher salaries lagged behind rates set last year, while school enrollments increased, according to the National Education Association. The group represents more than 2.7-million elementary and secondary teachers and other education professionals.
Revenues for education are expected to increase by 4.3 percent this year, the NEA said.
Teacher salaries grew more slowly than the economy, with an expected increase of 2.7 percent for the school year, the group said. At the same time, enrollment in public schools rose by nearly 500,000, with the largest increases in Nevada, Arizona and Florida.
"These new numbers show that despite the vital importance of education for our future, schools around the country are just barely holding their own," said Reg Weaver, the NEA's president.
The report said that the average salary of a public school teacher for the 2001-02 school year was $44,499, with 36 states paying less.
California teacher salaries averaged $53,870, followed by Connecticut and New York. Teachers in South Dakota were paid $31,295, with North Dakota and Mississippi rounding out the bottom three. Florida ranked 27th, up from 29th last year.
The report said 2,968,904 public school teachers teach more than 47.6-million students.