Teacher salaries in Michigan schools are too low and need to be increased to address noticeable recruiting and retention gaps, according to a recent report from an education research center at Michigan State University. 

The report by Jason Burns and Madeline Mavrogordato, on behalf of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, urges state policymakers to close the compensation gap by allocating more money to the School Aid Fund. 

"A solution to Michigan's teacher pay challenges must come from Lansing," the policy paper said. 

Michigan's current school financial blueprint was created in 1994, with the state basically covering operating expenses such as salaries through scheduled payments from the School Aid Fund. Official student enrollment count dates in the fall and spring are among the key data for calculating how much money each district gets. School districts can only seek additional funds from local taxpayers for specific purposes, such as new construction. 

Michigan was once among the highest-paying states for teachers, the report said. But over time, it has fallen behind as other states incorporate increased pay into their education budgets. It cited shifts in state budget allocations among education and other expenditures as one of the reasons. 

Given the trends in recent years, the researchers said they predicted that Michigan would fall further behind when the 2023-24 data was available. That turned out to be the case. 

During the 2023-24 school year, the data that is in the recently released report, the starting salary for Michigan teachers averaged $41,645, toward the bottom of the country, with the U.S. average at $46,645. This puts Michigan at 44th in the country among the states.

Starting salaries for teachers are highest in the District of Columbia, California and Washington; the lowest are in Missouri, Nebraska and Montana. 

In addition, Michigan's average of all teacher salaries was calculated as an average $69,067 during the 2023-24 school year in Michigan; but an average $72,030 across the U.S. This puts Michigan at 19th among the states.

"Policymakers can emphasize to the public that raising teacher salaries can reduce costly turnover, attract and retain high-quality teachers, and improve student outcomes," the authors said. "Further, these improvements will lead to broader benefits for all by increasing the skill of Michigan's workforce and growing the state's economy."