kellogsmalone t1_j5yvy15 wrote on January 26, 2023 at 3:05 PM

Reply to comment by rufustphish in Teacher moving to VT by thebaerfetus

Starting pay for a lot of school districts in Texas is 60K now.

HillRatch t1_j5z5say wrote on January 26, 2023 at 4:09 PM

That's true only in cities/wealthy suburbs, where $60K is really not a sustainable single income.

kellogsmalone t1_j5z6t18 wrote on January 26, 2023 at 4:16 PM

Cities and suburbs yes, but it is sustainable in Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Ft. Worth. It's not just wealthy suburbs. So it is sustainable. You're not making that in rural areas, no way.

HillRatch t1_j5z7pit wrote on January 26, 2023 at 4:22 PM

My definition of "sustainable" might be a little ambitious, I guess. 60K in any of those cities' cheaper areas could get you a tolerable apartment and you won't be on a starvation diet, but you're not saving up to buy a house and any serious medical issue will wipe you out.

I used to be a legislative analyst for a Texas house member who sat on the education committee and one of the big issues I handled was teacher salaries. I'm a little rusty now but I have a pretty good idea of the situation.

kellogsmalone t1_j5z8lw3 wrote on January 26, 2023 at 4:28 PM

I taught in Austin ISD for 6 years and made around $47K and with my wife working at time Warner, it was tough. We did manage to buy a condo in east Austin and made a good profit, moved to DFW so she could go to school to be an RN but had to move back in w my parents to accomplish that. We are at least in a spot now where we can sell here and take the pay cut to live where we want to be. I guess looking back we were racking up credit card debt to make it work and at $84K I'm now making progress with savings.

$60K to teach is still pretty good for starting pay with a BA and I wouldn't consider NRH or Hurst wealthy suburbs compared to Colleyville or grapevine