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Post-recession, More georgia teachers have Advanced degrees

Today’s Georgia teachers and school administrators are more likely to have an advanced degree and more years of experience than in years past, states a January 2014 report by Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. That’s because many educators postponed retirement during the recession, and many of those who did retire were not replaced, reports the institute, which studied Georgia Department of Education personnel data between 2001 and 2012. Although these trends pre-date the recession, they accelerated in recent years due to budget pressures. As a result, a public school student in 2012 was less likely to have a newly hired teacher or administrator, or one that does not have an advanced degree. They are also more likely to experience larger classroom sizes and fewer school administrators per student, states the report.

Over 7,800 full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching positions were eliminated during the recession, representing a 6.7 percent decline. Georgia’s student population grew modestly at 0.52 percent annually at the same time, increasing the demand on the remaining teachers.

The wages of educators also flattened or decreased during this period, and they had fewer paid contract days. Meanwhile, the student-toadministrator ratio has increased. Real per-student teacher salaries declined during the recession by 15 percent, as fewer teachers were asked to teach more students at a similar level of nominal compensation. n

PERCENT CHANGE IN DISTRICT TEACHING POSITIONS 2009 THROUGH 2012

Source: Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

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