44°Good Morning
A classroom in a Jericho school in 2022.

A classroom in a Jericho school in 2022. Credit: Jeffrey Basinger

Median teacher salaries have risen to $130,000 a year or higher in 34 school districts across Long Island — up from 24 a year earlier, a Newsday review found.

And a majority of the region’s school systems —  72 of 125  — report median salaries of $120,000 or higher, Newsday found. That number is also up from the previous year’s figure of 64.

Payroll numbers show that the Island's school systems maintained their longtime position as among the highest-paying, not only statewide, but also nationally. Teacher representatives in the region said the salary levels reflect high living costs in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as in similar suburban counties such as Westchester.

“We all know what it means to live on Long Island, and what the expense is to live here, and if we want to have high-quality professionals educating students in our public schools, that comes at a cost,” said Kevin Coyne, president of the region’s largest teachers union, in Brentwood. “The truth of the matter is we can’t live in other parts of the state and commute to the Island. We’re living in the same communities where we’re educating tomorrow’s entrepreneurs."

Coyne is also chair of a regional council representing presidents of local teachers unions, and is a member of the board of directors of New York State United Teachers, a statewide union umbrella group.

But state and local finance watchdogs questioned whether the rise in teacher pay was resulting in higher academic achievement for students. Recent national assessments, for example, showed middling results for New York students in math and reading.

“If we keep rewarding failure, we’re going to get more of it,” Andrea Vecchio, one of the region's leading taxpayer advocates, said in a phone interview. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Vecchio is also a founder of Long Islanders for Educational Reform, a regional advocacy group focused on school-finance issues.

The salary medians, also known as midpoints, were based on records covering more than 37,000 full-time classroom teachers in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Figures were for the 2023-24 school year, the latest available, and were provided by the state's Department of Education. 

Among more than 650 districts statewide, five of the 10 top-paying systems were located in the Nassau-Suffolk area. The other five were situated either in Westchester or other parts of the Lower Hudson region.

The highest-paying districts on the Island, and their median salaries, included: Cold Spring Harbor, $150,089; Syosset, $146,892; Jericho, $146,105; Commack, $143,402 and Three Village in Suffolk, $142,041.

Other top-paying systems in the state are Scarsdale, $156,432; Carmel, $151,328; Byram Hills, $146,902; Yonkers, $146,259; and Suffern, $143,052.

Nationwide, New York State ranks No. 1 in total public-school spending, at an average $29,873 per student, according to federal records. In terms of salaries, New York ranks second, at an average $92,696 per teacher. 

Much of this spending is fueled by a significant rise in state aid, totaling more than $9 billion, or 30% over the last four years. The biggest share of money is distributed under a "foundation" aid formula that gives extra weighting to districts in which large numbers of students are economically disadvantaged.

But Vecchio and others have raised concerns about this spending, particularly in terms of how it relates to academic achievement. 

This issue was the focus of a recent report from the Citizens Budget Commission, a non-partisan advocacy group with offices in Albany and Manhattan, entitled “Highest Costs, Middling Marks."

In its 12-page report, released on Jan. 17, the commission opened with a description of the state’s large-scale aid distribution, district spending and teacher payrolls. The report then moved on to comparisons of test results in New York and other states.

As its choice of tests, the commission used exams from NAEP, formerly the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That bipartisan federal agency periodically tests samples of students both nationwide and in individual states.

The report noted that New York consistently ranks in the middle of states in terms of NAEP scores, while ranking at the top in spending. It recommended that the state consider an overhaul in school oversight and accountability in order to boost performance.

“Continuing to shovel more and more money every year to school districts without fundamentally questioning this status quo behavior will not solve this problem,” the report concluded.

On Wednesday, NAEP’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., released its latest scores for 2024. Once again, New York found itself in the middle among states. In fourth-grade reading, for example, New York came in behind nine states, tied statistically with 34 other states and outscored only six.

There has been some improvement, however. Newsday reported in December that the number of districts on Long Island that recorded passage rates of 90% or better during the latest administrations of state Regents exams in English increased from 51 to 61. The number of districts recording high rates of students scoring at the "distinction" level — the state's top academic level — also rose, from 18 to 25. 

In response to the Citizens Budget Commission’s report, J.P. O’Hare, communications director for the education department, emailed a statement to Newsday rejecting the report as “nothing more than strategically cherry-picked data sets."

O’Hare added that state school aid helped pay for a wide range of useful services, including bus transportation, safety facilities and extra support for students with disabilities, limited English and other special needs. 

“While expensive, the alternative is to provide the bare minimum to students, which certainly won’t improve achievement,” O'Hare stated.

Median teacher salaries have risen to $130,000 a year or higher in 34 school districts across Long Island — up from 24 a year earlier, a Newsday review found.

And a majority of the region’s school systems —  72 of 125  — report median salaries of $120,000 or higher, Newsday found. That number is also up from the previous year’s figure of 64.

Payroll numbers show that the Island's school systems maintained their longtime position as among the highest-paying, not only statewide, but also nationally. Teacher representatives in the region said the salary levels reflect high living costs in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as in similar suburban counties such as Westchester.

“We all know what it means to live on Long Island, and what the expense is to live here, and if we want to have high-quality professionals educating students in our public schools, that comes at a cost,” said Kevin Coyne, president of the region’s largest teachers union, in Brentwood. “The truth of the matter is we can’t live in other parts of the state and commute to the Island. We’re living in the same communities where we’re educating tomorrow’s entrepreneurs."

WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND

  • Median teacher salaries rose in many Long Island school districts in 2023-24, with pay topping $130,000 a year or higher in 34 districts.
  • Teacher representatives said the salary levels reflect high living costs in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
  • Some state and local finance watchdogs questioned whether the rise in teacher pay was resulting in higher academic achievement for students. 

Coyne is also chair of a regional council representing presidents of local teachers unions, and is a member of the board of directors of New York State United Teachers, a statewide union umbrella group.

But state and local finance watchdogs questioned whether the rise in teacher pay was resulting in higher academic achievement for students. Recent national assessments, for example, showed middling results for New York students in math and reading.

“If we keep rewarding failure, we’re going to get more of it,” Andrea Vecchio, one of the region's leading taxpayer advocates, said in a phone interview. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Vecchio is also a founder of Long Islanders for Educational Reform, a regional advocacy group focused on school-finance issues.

Long Island a leader in pay

The salary medians, also known as midpoints, were based on records covering more than 37,000 full-time classroom teachers in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Figures were for the 2023-24 school year, the latest available, and were provided by the state's Department of Education. 

Among more than 650 districts statewide, five of the 10 top-paying systems were located in the Nassau-Suffolk area. The other five were situated either in Westchester or other parts of the Lower Hudson region.

The highest-paying districts on the Island, and their median salaries, included: Cold Spring Harbor, $150,089; Syosset, $146,892; Jericho, $146,105; Commack, $143,402 and Three Village in Suffolk, $142,041.

Other top-paying systems in the state are Scarsdale, $156,432; Carmel, $151,328; Byram Hills, $146,902; Yonkers, $146,259; and Suffern, $143,052.

Nationwide, New York State ranks No. 1 in total public-school spending, at an average $29,873 per student, according to federal records. In terms of salaries, New York ranks second, at an average $92,696 per teacher. 

Much of this spending is fueled by a significant rise in state aid, totaling more than $9 billion, or 30% over the last four years. The biggest share of money is distributed under a "foundation" aid formula that gives extra weighting to districts in which large numbers of students are economically disadvantaged.

But Vecchio and others have raised concerns about this spending, particularly in terms of how it relates to academic achievement. 

This issue was the focus of a recent report from the Citizens Budget Commission, a non-partisan advocacy group with offices in Albany and Manhattan, entitled “Highest Costs, Middling Marks."

In its 12-page report, released on Jan. 17, the commission opened with a description of the state’s large-scale aid distribution, district spending and teacher payrolls. The report then moved on to comparisons of test results in New York and other states.

As its choice of tests, the commission used exams from NAEP, formerly the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That bipartisan federal agency periodically tests samples of students both nationwide and in individual states.

The report noted that New York consistently ranks in the middle of states in terms of NAEP scores, while ranking at the top in spending. It recommended that the state consider an overhaul in school oversight and accountability in order to boost performance.

New York’s public schools spend 

$29,873 

per student on average, more than any other state, according to federal records.

“Continuing to shovel more and more money every year to school districts without fundamentally questioning this status quo behavior will not solve this problem,” the report concluded.

On Wednesday, NAEP’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., released its latest scores for 2024. Once again, New York found itself in the middle among states. In fourth-grade reading, for example, New York came in behind nine states, tied statistically with 34 other states and outscored only six.

There has been some improvement, however. Newsday reported in December that the number of districts on Long Island that recorded passage rates of 90% or better during the latest administrations of state Regents exams in English increased from 51 to 61. The number of districts recording high rates of students scoring at the "distinction" level — the state's top academic level — also rose, from 18 to 25. 

In response to the Citizens Budget Commission’s report, J.P. O’Hare, communications director for the education department, emailed a statement to Newsday rejecting the report as “nothing more than strategically cherry-picked data sets."

O’Hare added that state school aid helped pay for a wide range of useful services, including bus transportation, safety facilities and extra support for students with disabilities, limited English and other special needs. 

“While expensive, the alternative is to provide the bare minimum to students, which certainly won’t improve achievement,” O'Hare stated.

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME