The average New Jersey teacher, with 16 years experience, earns $28 an hour, plus benefits, and no vacation pay

The complaints about teachers' salaries aired on your "Local Live" program were infuriating. Do citizens believe they can have a good education for their children on the cheap, or is it purely ignorance that leads people to think teachers earn lots of money? The average New Jersey teacher, with 16 years experience, earns $28 an hour, plus benefits, and no vacation pay. A recent NJEA poll shows this average teacher earns $48,800 a year, working 47 hours a week. Take 185 days, do the arithmetic, and ...
Source: Paul DiZefalo, The Record; Bergen County, New Jersey; December 31, 1996

I am compelled to reply to the recent letter from Paul DiZefalo, titled "Teachers earn their salaries" in which he claims, based upon a recent New Jersey Education Association poll, that the average teacher earns $48,800 a year, working 47 hours a week. According to the salary guide of the Wayne School District, a teacher with only a bachelor's degree and 16 years of service would earn $56,30...
Source: The Record; Bergen County, New Jersey; February 18, 1997


I am filled with irritation when I read comments like those made by Paul DiZefalo in "Teachers earn their salaries" (Your Views, Dec. 31). Although he doesn't say so, I would bet that he is a teacher, or that a member of his family is a teacher. Second, his line of argument is typical of the defenders of monopolies, like the government (public) school system or the Postal Service. This ...
Source: The Record; Bergen County, New Jersey; January 12, 1997

I am writing in response to the recent letter from Paul DiZefalo about teachers' salaries. I agree that some of the teachers earn their salaries, but let's look at the numbers used in the letter. "The average N.J. teacher with 16 years experience earns $28 an hour, plus benefits, and no vacation pay. A recent NJEA poll shows this average teacher earns $48,000 a year working 47 hours a week. Take 185 days, do the arithmetic, and you get $28 per hour." Unlike the teachers, most people earn less than $28 an hour and ...
Source: The Record; Bergen County, New Jersey; January 5, 1997