Although Ohio teachers have the 13th highest salaries in the nation, average salaries for teachers in Athens County are almost 20 percent lower than the state average, a disparity local school officials attribute to an over-reliance on property taxes.
On average, teacher salaries ' determined by negotiations with local unions ' in Athens County in 2006 were about $8,000 less than the state average of $50,772 and about $19,000 less than wealthy districts, such as Columbus suburb Upper Arlington, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
Athens City School District in 2006 paid teachers an average $46,331, the highest amount in the county but still about $4,000 less than the state average, according to ODE statistics. Statistics for the 2006-07 year are not yet available.
District treasurer Matt Bunting said he attributes the lower salaries to a smaller tax base in Athens than in other more wealthy areas, a problem that all local districts face. The school district collects taxes on about $420 million of property while Upper Arlington might collect on a $2.8 billion area.
The largest percentage of Ohio's school funding comes from local property taxes, and this allows districts with higher property values to collect more for their schools. In Athens City School District, 40.3 percent of its projected 2007 budget came from local property taxes and unrestricted state funds comprised 26.5 percent.
Levies passed also collect less money in Athens County, Bunting said, adding that a 1-mill levy in Athens ' which would collect $35 for a $100,000 property ' might collect one-fourth as much as one in Upper Arlington.
Trimble Local School District paid teachers $46,199 in 2006, only slightly lower than Athens City, but also has lower enrollment and a smaller budget than state averages, said superintendent Cindy Johnston.Trimble's budget is limited because Glouster does not have the industry to collect large sums of property tax, and the district has difficulty passing levies, Johnston said.
The last operating levy Trimble passed was in 1966, according to the Athens County Board of Elections.
Federal Hocking Local School District has the lowest average teacher salary in the county at $39,097 in 2006, according to the ODE. Federal Hocking's teachers' salaries placed in the bottom quarter of all Ohio districts.
Federal Hocking has not hired any new teachers in the past three years because of its current debt and projections of a $1.8 million deficit by next year, said treasurer Bruce Steenrod.
Nelsonville-York School District paid teachers an average $41,826 in 2006, about $9,000 below the state average, according to the ODE.
Superintendent Ted Bayat also attributed the district's disparity to the state funding system's reliance on property taxes, which allows rich school districts to collect more money and provide higher salaries.
The rich continue to get richer
Bayat said. 17
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