Download complete salary schedule bulletin [70k PDF]

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide local leaders with information on salary schedules. Questions have been raised in the press regarding the cost of salary schedules and the impact of collective bargaining on the schedules. It is important to note the history of salary schedules can be traced to the 1920's long before the beginning of collective bargaining. The Denver School Board implemented the first salary schedule in 1920 that based teacher pay on experience and training. New York State began legislating minimum teacher salaries for some districts in the early 1920s and required annual increments to increase pay for more experienced teachers. While New York was legislating salary based on experience, school districts across the country were turning to salary schedules to equalize pay between men and women and between elementary and high school teachers. By 1941 31 percent of schools in the United States were using salary schedules to pay their teachers.

The number of districts covered by New York's minimum salary and annual increment law was gradually increased as were the minimum and increment amounts. By 1946 most districts were covered but the amount of the minimum salary and increment varied by school district type and the level taught. High school teachers were paid the most.

To address the issue of low teacher pay, New York State enacted "the Salary Law" in 1947. In addition to increasing salaries, the legislation shifted to the principle of basing teacher compensation on teacher preparation rather than the level of school taught. The law required at least five guaranteed increments for beginning teachers, giving "a definite and more adequate reward for experience in a school system."

Download complete salary schedule bulletin [70k PDF]