Hey Fletch—Why do you utilize teacher compensation data for comparison data? I don’t necessarily believe they are compensated very well on average.
Fletch—Some folks don’t think teachers are paid a fair and living wage. During the recent webinar, one person looked up teachers in their local school district. The comment back to me was, Okay, now I get it. They are paid just about like our pastors.
I like school district pay scales as they are locally negotiated. They reflect local values and pay scales. And I’ve never had a congregant complain that our staff was paid about the same as local teachers. It’s a good talking point without ever going into the dollars and cents.
Let me add that top staff in many churches earn salaries that are comparable to district officials.
Finally, pastors can utilize the ministerial housing allowance to offset federal income taxes, while teachers tend to have better retirement plans in place.
