Other News

But Still Lag Far Behind National Averages
Texas Moves Up in NEA National Rankings
For Teacher Pay and Per-Student Spending

Newly released National Education Association (NEA) data (posted here) reflects that despite the increases in state funding to schools, Texas still trails many states and the District of Columbia in average teacher pay and the amount of spending per student.

Highlights:
  • Average teacher pay in Texas increased from $54,121 in 2018-19 to $57,091 during the recently completed 2019-20 school year, a gain of 5.5 percent.

    That moved Texas up two notches, from 28th to 26th, among the states and the District of Columbia, but teacher pay in Texas still trails the national average of $63,645 by more than $6,500.

  • Per student spending in average daily attendance (ADA) in Texas increased by an estimated $830 for the 2019-20 school year, an increase of almost 8 percent over 2018-19.

    The new spending estimate of $11,415 per student moves Texas to 37th among the states and the District of Columbia, up from 42nd a year ago.

    Texas still trails the national average of $14,254 by an estimated $2,839 per child, but by a smaller gap than in 2018-19.

Noel Candelaria, president of the NEA-affiliated Texas State Teachers Association said (in this press release) that while his association is happy the Legislature increased funding for public education, we “obviously have a long way to go to provide all school children and educators the resources they need to keep our state moving forward in the 21st Century.”