The state of Michigan is facing a budget shortfall of $1.85 billion. Many seeking degrees in education are concerned with this figure as states trying to slash spending often have education first on the chopping block.
The newly elected governor Rick Snyder has already talked about the “shared sacrifice” that will need to take place in order to budget, and public servants, such as teachers, and their pensions will be a part of the sacrifice.
“Education has been shown to be the key for long-term economic gains as citizens become better skilled for a more complex world,” Eastern Michigan University economics professor Carol Hogan said. “Cutting education funding is completely counter-intuitive. This is a clear short-run versus long-run issue, and the short-run approach appears to be winning.”
The year 2010 ended with disappointing economic figures, only adding 103,000 jobs in December, meaning unemployment will remain around 9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“It could take four to five more years for the job market to normalize fully,” Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, told The New York Times noting the expectations had “improved only modestly at best.”
Hogan said, “I think the next three to four years will continue to be difficult, and not just in Michigan. Teacher graduates may need to find different fields of employment during that time, but continue to upgrade their skills so they will be ready to step into teaching at some point.”
During the time the economy is recovering, teachers will not only have trouble finding jobs, but states will collect less tax revenue leaving less funding to go toward education. Rather than make cuts to direct educational tools, state governments across the country have been attempting to reduce teacher’s pay and benefits.
“The pay was never a big issue to me, just so long as I got periodic raises as I dedicated more and more time to the field,” said sophomore Jessica Dotson, who once considered pursuing education.
Local unions have fought the concessions demanded from state lawmakers, saying they have already given up enough. But, according to a poll conducted by The Detroit News, a majority of Michiganders support changes in pay for public employees, which are expected to be part of the agenda for a Republican governor.
The poll shows 52 percent support a 5 percent cut in total compensation for state employees, while 39 percent are opposed.
Voters also support, 59 to 33 percent, a plan backed by State Treasurer Andy Dillon to pool state and local government-employee health care.
Also, 68 percent of voters support changing teacher tenure rules to base it on student performance rather than the number of years a teacher has been on the job, while 28 percent oppose. Even 56 percent of union households supported the change, which Snyder has said needs to be looked at.
Regardless of the poor economic outlook, economists expect jobs for teachers at most levels to grow faster than the average for all careers through 2018. However, jobs for high school teachers remain stagnant with most of the openings coming from retirement.
Most job openings will be in rural and inner-city schools and for teachers in subjects such as math, chemistry, physics and world languages.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the 2008 average yearly earnings of teachers — not including special education teachers — by educational level taught at $49,770 kindergarten, $52,240 elementary school, $52,570 middle school, and $54,390 secondary school.
Postsecondary teachers’ salaries and benefits vary, while tenured professors at private universities can earn more than $100,000. Professors at two-year colleges might be paid less than $1,000 a course and receive no health benefits.
“I was always interested in teaching, but when it really came down to it, I realized I just wasn’t passionate enough about it and I wasn’t about to pay years of tuition for something I may be discontented with,” Dodson said about her choice to leave education to learn about economics.
