where can I find the specific rate of pay per teacher at halifax
community college in weldon, north carolina.

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 24 Jan 2005 17:09 PST

Hello helpmequick-ga,

Community college faculty salaries vary greatly depending on a variety
of factors such as subject, department, education leve (MA, Ph.D.,
etc.), adjunct vs. tenure track, etc. I?ve found some general
information about community college salaries in North Carolina. Would
this be sufficient? If not, please provide additional information
about exactly what type of teaching position?s salary you?re looking
for. I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

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Clarification of Question by helpmequick-ga on 25 Jan 2005 04:05 PST

I need specific information about Halifax Community College. I was
thinking that it had to be public record somewhere but I cannot find 
it.

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 25 Jan 2005 11:57 PST

Hello again helpmequick-ga,

The North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges has a ?Community
College Faculty and Professional Staff Salary Plan" which sets general
guidelines but allows a lot of local leeway for setting salaries based
on local conditions. You might be able to get more information about
the State guidelines from the Public Affairs Office in Raleigh,
919-807-7100. The individual colleges generally have salary
administration plans that set up salary scales based on education and
experience. The state conducts a salary survey of the community
colleges every year. I can provide you with links to the most recent
North Carolina community college salary surveys and some recent
articles that address the fiscal woes of the community college system.

You will have to contact Halifax Community College to get specific
information about their salary scales or about the salary for a
specific job.

In light of the difficulties involved in getting the information
you?re looking for, would the material I?ve found satisfy your needs?

~ czh ~

Have you already called the college and asked them? It might be worth
trying. Sometimes, the most simple approach leads to success.

Scriptor

I can tell you by experience that it will be difficult to get the
answer from the institution. They will probably stonewall at first.
When they finally give you an answer it will be presented in
complicated language to mask the actual pay rate. Finally, when you
penetrate the veil of secrecy and determine the actual pay rate it
will likely shock you. Educrats and teachers' unions love to maintain
the myth that they are paid little, It keeps the game going. Ask
yourself this question: when was the last time you saw a teacher who
worked during the summer? It was routine years ago when they actually
were underpaid. Now they summer in exotic locales sipping margaritas
and laughing at the taxpayers.

Mistergab's comment is absolutely incorrect. My wife, mother, and many
other close relatives are teachers.  Their pay is very modest compared
to the work, education, and time involved.  I would say an average
teacher in an typical district in the U.S. earns around $30-40,000 per
year.
I can also tell you that teachers fight to get summer positions to be
able to supplement their income.  The reason why fewer and fewer
teachers have been teaching summers in recent years is because school
districts are reducing the number of summer school classes due to
budget cuts.

I would second that motion.  Teachers, across the board, are now and
have always been the least paid of the 'white collar professionals'. 
As a Ph.D, I've taught masters and other Ph.D. students for the past
10 years and have observed first-hand how drastically legislatures
have cut education to balance state and local budgets.  This
undermines the earning ability of individuals who have spent 6+ years
(beyond college) of their lives in preparation for the opportunity to
teach others.

And as far as summers in exotic locales (which I assume you mean
'non-working' summers) -- that's simply a myth.  Education is
conducted year-round/ world-wide -- some of which would include work
in 'exotic locales.'  But, as someone who has spent the last 6 years
teaching masters students on U.S. military bases in S. Korea and Japan
-- let me tell you, it's no picnic!  Living and working overseas was
THE hardest 'duty' I've ever pulled in my life.  I might do it again
if I had the opportunity, but that has nothing to do with the pay or
the fact that some might consider Japan an 'exotic' locale (which,
it's not -- believe me)!

My commitment to the teaching profession -- like many others who've
signed up for a career in public service (e.g., police, fire, EMS
workers, soldiers, etc) -- has little/ nothing to do with the
profitability of the field.  I would like a middle-class compensation
for my time/ energy like anyone else, but I think most would agree
that you don't become a policeman/ fireman/ EMS worker/ soldier or
teacher to get rich . . . clearly it happens on VERY rare occasion,
but if you want to make money, working for the public is probably not
a good idea.  More than likely, you'll find its the lawyers,
accountants, medical doctors, investment counselors (across the board)
who earn the more lavish salaries and get to sip margaritas in exotic
locales, while laughing at taxpayers (especially, if they are
aggressive at writing off these types of 'business expenses' and
taking advantage of tax loopholes -- and why shouldn't they be --
they've already commited themselves to a career that is in business to
MAKE A PROFIT, unlike the public sector).

Getting back to the initial question, however, of finding the pay rate
at a public institution -- it sounds as if you've been given some
pretty reliable information by czh.  If you need further info, you
might want to check with the Chronicle of Higher Education (online at
http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/) which compiles faculty salary data
from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).  This
is THE authoritative source of the type of information you seek. 
Calling or checking with the AAUP online, could help as well.

Regarding N. Carolina faculty salaries in specific, these rose 2.8%
over the past year, as reported in a recent article at the Chronicle
(see URL above) but failed to keep pace with inflation for the first
time in 8 Years.  Again, this does not seem to support the image of
teachers siphoning off much-needed public funds.

I find it amusing that the teachers don't normalize the pay based on
how much of the year they work.  The average worker works 250 days a
year and the average teacher works about 170 days a year.  That works
out to 68%.  So $40,000 per year for a teacher is equivalent to about
$59,000 per year.  In addition, teacher's  get very rich medical
benefits in comparison to the private sector. (often no contributory
part, with low co-pays).  while in the Caralinas the raise did not
meet inflation for the first time in 8 years, most non-education jobs
have not kept up with inflation each year for the last 5 years.