U.S. TEACHERS Report lists Ohio 18th in salaries

Ohio ranked 21st for average beginning teacher salary; Pennsylvania, 11th.
Ohio ranks 18th among the states in the amount it pays its teachers, says a new report by the American Federation of Teachers.
The average teacher salary in Ohio was $44,266 in 2001-02, says the report, released this week.
That compares with the U.S. average of $44,367.
Ohio's average rose 6.1 percent from the 1999-2000 year, comparable to the 6.3-percent average increase across the nation. Its ranking among states slipped from 16th, however.
Pennsylvania ranked seventh among states, with an average salary of $50,599, a 4.7-percent increase from 1999-2000. It fell from the fifth-place ranking it had that year.
The AFT report represents a survey of boards of education across the nation and also uses information from other sources, including the U.S. Department of Education.
In the report
The report shows, nationwide, that: beginning teacher salaries have improved; teacher shortages have been alleviated, in part, because of a depressed job market for college graduates in other fields; and overall salary growth has slowed because of state financial crises.
Average U.S. beginning salary was $30,719. In Ohio, the average beginning salary was $29,953 -- 67.7 percent of the state's overall average teacher salary -- ranking it 21st in that category.
Pennsylvania ranked 11th in average beginning teacher salary, at $31,866, 63 percent of its average overall teacher salary.
The report covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is based on the most recent data available.
High, low averages
The report says California had the highest average salary at $54,348, followed by Michigan ($52,497), Connecticut ($52,376), Rhode Island ($51,619) and New York ($51,020).
Lowest averages were in South Dakota ($31,383) and Puerto Rico ($25,430).
Highest beginning salary averages were in Alaska ($36,294), New Jersey ($35,311), New York ($34,577), Connecticut ($34,551) and California ($34,180). North Dakota came in lowest at $20,988, with Montana at $22,344.
While the report found a balanced supply and demand for elementary school teachers, considerable shortages remain in the areas of math, physics, chemistry, earth science, biology and Spanish language. There is an oversupply of physical education teachers, the report says.