Should Beaufort County schools put the highest-paid teachers in areas with the most poverty?

Beaufort County teachers earn on average $56,357, but salaries do not vary much between schools based on the percentage of students living in poverty or a school’s overall ranking, state data show.

The School Board’s Finance Committee recently discussed a need to analyze the relationship between teacher salaries and poverty levels to ensure “we’re putting our best resources where they’re most needed,” committee Chairman Richard Geier said.

“Do we have the highest-paid teachers at our lowest achievement schools?” Geier said. “In other words, do we have our most experienced teachers at our lowest achievement schools?”

Mossy Oaks Elementary School in Beaufort had the highest average teacher salary at $59,792, with 71.6% of students in poverty. Second highest was Hilton Head Island Elementary, where teachers averaged $59,735 with 56.2% of students in poverty. Both schools had “average” overall ratings.

School salaries, overall ranking and percentage of students in poverty are contained on the South Carolina school report cards for the 2021-22 school year, released in October.

Generally, teachers are hired by the district as a whole, then placed at schools based on what positions are open, according to District Spokesperson Candace Bruder.

“Even when positions are advertised for specific schools, it is not uncommon for candidates to blanketly apply to them all,” she said in an email.

Poverty rates are based on students enrolled in Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families along with homeless, migrant or foster care students, according to the South Carolina Board of Education.

Pritchardville Elementary School had the lowest average teacher salary at $50,386 with 39.5% of students in poverty. The second lowest salary was at Port Royal Elementary School, where average teacher salary was $50,953 with 86.5% of students in poverty. Both schools had “Good” overall ratings.

Of the 10 schools with the highest average teacher salaries, five have a majority of students in poverty. Of the 10 schools with the lowest average teacher salaries, seven have a majority of students in poverty while three don’t.

While teacher salaries are all based on the same scale, one school may have a higher or lower average salary compared with others due to a variety of factors.

The entry-level salary for a Beaufort County teachers with a bachelor’s degree is $45,566. Coupled with a 3% raise previously approved by the school board plus locality, retention and recruitment bonuses, a starting teacher is actually paid $50,066. Teachers are paid more the longer they’re with the district and the higher education they have as well.

Beaufort County has the highest starting teacher salary for public school districts in the state. However, it also has a higher cost of living than most of South Carolina.

Bruder said the district is “unable to speculate further on the topic of teacher salaries being based on school performance or poverty level” until it analyzes the recent teacher salary raises’ impact on hiring.

Students in poverty

In Beaufort County, 55.9% of students are in poverty, according to the South Carolina Department of Education.

Whale Branch Elementary School has the highest percentage of students in poverty at 91.9% Its average teacher salary is below the average for Beaufort County schools at $53,456.

May River High School has the lowest percentage of student in poverty at 35.3%. Its average teacher salary is slightly above the average for Beaufort County schools at $56,451.

There is a small correlation between the percentage of students in poverty at each Beaufort County school and their overall ranking: As poverty percentages go up, generally school rankings go down.

“Getting data on what the average salaries are in each of the schools in a start, but there’s more to look at,” Geier said. “All this is based on looking at whether we’re putting our resources at the right place to achieve equal academic achievement.”

Geier recommended that the board’s Academic Committee and Student Services look at the findings and produce a report of the total amount each school spends on teacher salaries and how those salaries break down by student, which wasn’t in the South Carolina report cards data.

“What this data is going to help us determine [is that] perhaps we need to change our policies,” he said. “Our teachers get an annual contract for the school district. Not for battery Creek High School, or May River High School — it’s for the district. And so we can use teachers in places where we need [them].”