Teacher pay on Long Island: Median salaries top $120,000 in most school districts

Median teacher salaries have risen beyond $130,000 annually in more than 20 school districts across Long Island, while the median in most systems regionwide is up to $120,000, a Newsday analysis found.

The numbers show the region maintains its long standing as one of the highest paying for teachers, not only in the state but in the nation. Teacher representatives say the pay reflects the region's high cost of living.

Ten districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the lower Hudson region have the highest concentrations of well-compensated teachers in New York, according to Newsday's review. Rankings are based on state-computed median figures — that is, midpoints on the salary scale. 

Scarsdale in Westchester County is No. 1 among districts statewide, with median annual pay of $152,543. Carmel in Putnam County and Cold Spring Harbor in Suffolk rank second and third, at $148,461 and $148,402, respectively.

Other high-paying systems include Byram Hills in Westchester at $147,563; Syosset in Nassau at $144,123, and Jericho, also in Nassau, at $143,392.   

Educators' pay and staffing levels are topics frequently mentioned at local school board meetings these days as districts finalize budget proposals for public voting on May 21. Salaries represent the biggest cost for districts, and school taxes account for more than 60% of property owners' tax bills. 

On the Island, teacher representatives say income levels reflect a combination of socioeconomic factors, including parents' expectations that their children's instructors will be highly trained and skilled. 

"Listen, we all know the cost of living on Long Island is high, and if people are going to live there, they have to have competitive salaries," said Kevin Coyne, president of the region's largest teachers union, in Brentwood. "Also, people on Long Island want quality education and that means you have to hire quality teachers."

Coyne, who also serves on the executive board of New York State United Teachers, an influential statewide union group, added that a shortage of experienced teachers in key areas such as advanced math and science has touched off a bidding war of sorts among districts. 

"Good luck finding a bilingual chemistry teacher," Coyne said. "We have to pay competitive salaries when there's a limited number of candidates."

NY 2nd in teacher salaries

Newsday's salary analysis drew on the latest available data for the Nassau-Suffolk region during the 2022-23 school year compiled by the state Department of Education. Numbers covered payrolls for a total of 35,572 full-time classroom teachers in 124 public school districts and six public charter schools, which run independently.

New York ranked second among states in 2022-23 in terms of teacher salaries, with an average $92,065, according to estimates by the NEA, a national teacher union. Massachusetts was first at $92,307.

Of 124 districts on the Island, 114 paid median salaries of $100,000 or higher in 2022-23, according to state data. Of those systems, 64 paid medians of $120,000 or more and 23 paid medians of $130,000-plus.

Nassau County's overall median in 2022-23 was $120,484, up 1.2% from the previous year and 5.1% from 2017-18. Suffolk's 2022-23 median was $117,566, up 0.9% from the previous year and 8.5% from 2017-18. 

Amid rising costs of employee contracts, health insurance, therapy services and other expenses, a few districts have announced planned layoffs as a means of saving money. West Babylon school officials announced at a March 26 board meeting  they were considering the elimination of 16 positions for teachers and other staff.

Later in the meeting, several parents and students stepped up to a microphone and urged the board to do whatever it could to save staffers' jobs and students' services.

"If you cut these programs and teachers, we're not just reducing the quality of education, we're also making our town less attractive to families and hurting our community's overall value," 12th grader Ethan Dang said.  

Even with those personnel cuts, West Babylon estimates it would have to raise total property-tax collections by 6.88% for 2024-25. That increase would be less than the district's original 9.98% estimate but still above its allowable state "cap" limit of 2.01%. 

To exceed that limit, West Babylon would have to obtain a voter majority of 60% at least, under state law.

On Tuesday, district officials met again and lowered their jobs-reduction plan to nine positions — three administrators, five social workers and one behavior specialist. The projected tax-levy increase remains at 6.88%, though the district says it might reduce this to as low as 5.91% if it receives additional state financial aid. Even the lower figure would require an override vote.

In Albany, state lawmakers on Saturday approved a statewide expansion of school aid  that included a 3.78% increase for West Babylon.  

Does student achievement measure up?

Some education analysts at the state level question whether the relatively high teacher salaries paid in this state result in commensurate academic achievement. One group that has looked into this is the Empire Center for Public Policy, a fiscally conservative think tank. 

Last month, Empire issued  a report on salaries for classroom teachers, finding a total of 189 school districts out of 685 statewide had median pay scales over $100,000. Meanwhile, another report from the same group noted New York's latest scoring results from a federal testing system were relatively low. 

The system, called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, compares academic achievement between states in four areas: performance of fourth and eighth graders in math and reading. 

Results from 2022 NAEP testing showed four nearby states — New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont — outperformed New York in all four categories while spending less money per student, the Empire group noted. Empire also compared per-pupil spending figures in those states for 2020-21. 

"This is an appropriate time for New York to re-evaluate the return state taxpayers receive for seemingly unquestioning support for increased spending on its public school system," said Ken Girardin, Empire's research director.

Andrea Vecchio, a regional taxpayer advocate, added that district scores on state tests also indicated state aid invested in public education had limited impact on student achievement. 

"Failing schools that were failing 35 years ago are still open and still failing," Vecchio said in a phone interview.

Vecchio is a founding member of Long Islanders for Educational Reform, a regional advocacy group. 

Public school supporters contend  scores from state and federal testing programs do not fully measure New York's achievement. Supporters point to other evidence that New York excels in some areas — for example, in the large number of high school students winning recognition in national science contests and passing college-level courses sponsored by the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. 

Ben Amey, spokesman for New York State United Teachers, told Newsday his group "is proud to support the hundreds of thousands of educators across our state and on Long Island who deserve fair pay and benefits that reflect their hard work and high levels of expertise and professionalism."