In the din of people expressing irritation about the state of Harford County Public Schools, the issue of teacher pay is, to some extent, being drowned by concerns about bus route cuts and requirements that students who want to participate in athletics or extracurricular activities pay fees.
Teacher pay, indeed, is an important issue, and one that needs to be addressed in a more balanced way in Harford County.
Lately the president of the Harford County Education Association has been making the rounds, pointing out that it has been several years since teachers in Harford County received raises, and that Harford teacher pay ranks low compared to other Maryland counties.
The two claims are spot on, but a little bit more context is in order. The last time teachers in Harford County got a meaningful across-the-board raise, approximately six years ago, they ranked low in Maryland on the pay scale front. In the immediate aftermath, the county's ranking was a good deal closer to the top of the pack. Now, a few years on, absent of any additional meaningful raises, Harford County teachers are again near the back of the pack in Maryland.
Another key detail is that, according to the National Education Association, Maryland ranks eighth in the U.S. for average teacher pay, and the state is well ahead of the national average, as well as well ahead of the median among the states.
In short, Harford County lately ranks near the bottom in terms of teacher pay in a state that ranks near the top in terms of teacher pay. It's hardly terrible.
It is to be expected that the teachers union would make as good a case every year for increased pay for its members; that's the union's job.
While it isn't necessarily reasonable to expect massive raises every year, the tack in Harford County of feast or famine on the pay increase front isn't a particularly good way to do business.
It's become fairly clear the administration of the school system and the board of education that administration answers to have been responsible in recent years for more than few financial missteps, hence the latest bus route cuts, pay-to-play extracurricular activity fees and the lack of teacher raises. The evidence, of course, is that enrollment has been on the decline for several years, even as funding allocations to the school system have been tracking up.
Until someone gets a handle on this disturbing financial reality, teachers, parents, students and taxpayers can all expect more disappointing results.