Commentary

Average Teacher Salaries Climb

New data released by the Michigan Department of Education shows that the average public school teacher salary in Michigan increased slightly for the 2011-2012 school year to $62,631.

This was up 1.7 percent from 2010-2011 year, but 0.6 percent less than the all-time high of $63,024 reported by the MDE for 2009-2010.

These figures include both conventional school districts and public charter schools, but the difference between these two types of schools was large, according to the data. The average salary for charter school teachers was $42,864,[1] while the average for just conventional school teachers was $63,094.

Below are the 20 districts (with more than 100 pupils) that had the highest average teacher salaries in the state:


[1] This figure is made of data from only about 15 percent of charter schools. Most charters contract with educational management companies that hire and pay their teachers, and these charters do not report spending money directly on teacher salaries.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.