I taught in public schools for 24 years (I concluded my career last Friday). I came to see how so much money is wasted because market forces are not allowed to work. In my case, my pay scale increased with my years on the job and the additional degrees that I earned. Neither factor necessarily made me a better teacher. However, in the areas where I brought value (leading choirs, directing plays, organizing events, sponsoring clubs, etc.) , I was not paid. If my pay had been market-driven, and I was allowed to negotiate my salary based on my production, I believe that all involved would have been better off.

There are a lot of issues: Why have public schools? Why have parents with children in private schools or being home-schooled, pay for public schools also?
But the main issue IMHO is: Why are public school teachers (or any government employees) allowed to strike for higher income? This is the root of the problem.

although I largely agree with the conclusion, this is also a misleading set of data, and when someone fabricates data, it compromises the entire argument, which this author has done. No one who didn't already agree, is going to be swayed by this. So, "hooray again". We riled up a willing audience and did nothing for the overall cause.

I work in the private sector, and our costs for an employee are also significantly more than their salary. No $shit, really? Yes, all companies are like this, and about 30% goes to the ridiculous regulat-apitablism we call health care.

The key relevant points for teachers are:
1. nine months a year work.
2. pensions
These two effects on their salaries count. The rest is irrelevant.

My father was a high school physics teacher, and I made more my first year of working as an engineer, than he made his last year. That said, teacher's salaries are now out of control, particularly in certain areas, like here in MA, where starting teachers make more $ for 9 months than we pay starting engineers.

Teachers aren't the problem. Thanks to mistaken efforts at social engineering, administrative staffing has exploded. When I went to high school, we had one principal for over 2,000 students, and the administrative staff were far fewer than the number of teachers. It's not unusual today for a school to have a principal for each year group in the school (4!), with the required support staff for each principal.

Today the number of administrative staff averages about double the number of teachers. These parasites drain funds that should be directed at the classrooms. They also rob the pensions and benefits intended originally for teachers. When state legislatures try to find more money for their school system, it most often goes to add more administrative staff, instead of into the classrooms.

Anyone who owns and operates a small business knew this before the article was published. And anyone who owns and operates a small business says bull sh*t to the media. The problem with teachers is that they are pretty much immune to the fluctuations of the market place. Tenure has made them recession proof. I doubt any of them would survive running a business.

My uncle retired from a 30+ years teaching in public schools in 1985. At that time he was making more than $55,000 in annual salary for working 9 months a years. He got benefits of more than 25% an top of that- virtually free medical and dental care for life, and his pension was over 2/3 of his salary.
I assure you that teacher pay has gone up substantially since 1985.
Many public school teachers are overpaid baby sitters who deliver propaganda mindlessly that destroys the lives of the young people they brainwash.

Doesn’t it also depend on what the perceived value of what they teach? Imagine the deep resentment of someone that viciously believes that the value of their marxist teachings is worth so much more than some lucky guy that started a car company that won the “capitalist lottery.” Now imagine almost every left bent teacher thinking this.
If it’s fair value they want, they should be charged heavily for schooling marxist ideology to children. Similar to criminals who hand out drugs to children.

Fivedollargold loves to get under the skin of fellow teachers when they whine about their pay. "Why didn't you choose another career if you don't like the pay?" 99% of the time their response is, "I do it for the children." "So, if you are working for the children, why are you complaining about the pay?" They really get mad at this.

The media misinforms. Period.
To spin is what they do.

(1) "The media" is an unnanmed collective. Does "the Media" not include FEE itself as well as Fox News and Glenn Beck? The definition of "the Media" is missing: no one is identified as empowered to speak for all. And no analysis is provided to compare and contrast sources.

(2) Why are you mad at teachers? As Newt Gingrich said about all government employees: these folks are your neighbors; they are not evil; they just have the wrong information system. Do you hate the city parks department, too? Refuse collectors? The problem is the institution in which they work. And it was "we the peiople" who created and empowered those structures. The problem is not gardeners or teachers, but the lack of an open market.

(3) Was your high school physics teacher overpaid? How about the woman who taught you cursive? What was that worth to you in your life? Education is invaluable.

(4) For every conservative who complains that public education is "Marxist" there is a real Marxist who points out that schools just train people to work at pointless jobs for low wages and then waste their money on consumerist junk in order to fuel the capitalist war machine. (Just sayin'...)

(5) The original post and the first comments are just examples of "moral posturing" which has been discussed here in the Gulch.

(6) Since 2012, I have been a judge in our regional science fairs. I have seen the outcomes. Teachers get paid pretty much the same everywhere. What counts most is the involvement of the parents in the education of their children. We have a Muslim "Peace Academy" here and a Jewish high school of course, and a slew of Catholic schools, naturally enough. Those parents made choices. The parents who only want babysitters are getting what they asked for. But you cannot fault the teachers for that.