Gov. John Baldacci should be commended for wanting to increase the base salary of Maine teachers, but he also should be admonished for leading people to believe the idea would cost only $4 million a year.
The governor doesn’t mention that boosting the base pay will almost surely increase the pay of all teachers, as well as administrators. He also doesn’t mention that the teacher salary problem is in northern Maine, where the average pay is about $32,500 a year, compared to southern Maine’s $40,000 a year. That, however, probably reflects the job market and cost of living in those northern areas and not an effort to depress teacher pay.
In fact, overall, Maine teachers’ pay ranks 36th in the country, while the average pay for all other Maine workers ranks 38th.
Averages aside, the governor’s idea would force increases in local budgets without providing the money to pay for the new state mandate. That has been a recurring federal and state curse on local governments and schools and can be blamed for much of the unrest over property tax rates in Maine, especially along the coast or in the bigger communities that provide the markets, jobs and infrastructure to support the smaller ones.
The Maine Municipal Association estimates the Baldacci teacher salary proposal could cost local property taxpayers another $50 million to $75 million statewide annually, intensifying the property tax revolt rather than calming it.
The state should not interfere with local school boards and teacher unions when they negotiate contracts, or the town meeting voters and city councilors who ultimately decide how much they can afford to pay their teachers each year.
The governor might be looking for teacher votes for his re-election bid in November, but he is being insensitive to property owners who would have to pay for the raises and who already pay more of the overall tax burden than any other group of taxpayers in Maine.
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