The Michigan Department of Education improperly calculated the average public school teacher salary in the state for the last six years, reporting figures significantly lower than what is correct. Corrected figures for the past two years were recently released.

The teacher salary averages are published in MDE's "Bulletin 1014" report, which divides the total amount paid in salary to all teachers in the state by the number of teachers. The department, however, had included some charter school teachers in the second figure without adding their pay to the total salary amount. The math error produced a deflated average teacher salary from 2004 to 2009.

In 2004 the difference between the average salary reported by the MDE ($52,161) and the correct figure ($54,088) was $1,927, or 3.7 percent. The most recent 2009 report understates the correct salary amount by $3,551, or 6.1 percent.

Charter school teachers generally earn salaries that are considerably lower than those in conventional schools. When they are not included in the calculations the average salary for teachers in conventional districts is $62,556. 

The MDE has issued a revised version of the 2009 report that correctly states that the average teacher salary for all teachers that year (conventional and charter) was $62,272, or $3,551 more than the $58,721 originally reported. The 2008 report has also been corrected.

The figures are important because they may be used to inform important policy decisions. For example, the Legislature recently debated a modest school employee pension reform proposed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and pensions are based on a teacher's final salary.

Michigan teachers command the highest salaries in the nation when taking into account state per capita personal income.

At a recent rally where school employees called for an increase in state taxes, a representative of the Warren Education Association claimed that school revenues were in such disrepair that some students had to go without desks. A spokesperson from Warren Consolidated Schools denied this claim, but even if it were true, a few very minor policy changes well short of tax hikes would be all that is necessary to pay for many new desks.

According the the Warren district's collective bargaining agreement with teachers, the president of the local teachers union is paid the highest possible salary the contract will allow ($92,835), plus full fringe benefits. The union boss is also released from all teaching duties, meaning that the district pays this person not to instruct students but to conduct union business.

The vice president of the union is also released from teaching duties for half of each school day. To make up the slack, the district is forced to keep additional teachers on the payroll. Based on the average teacher salary in Warren of $73,421, this additional cost for providing release time to union officials would buy 1,380 new desks every year.

Many other school districts throughout the state subsidize union personnel costs by granting release time like this. But since the Warren district is supposedly unable to afford enough desks for its students, it should end this policy and use the money saved to benefit students.