The Nation - News from April 10, 1985

The nation’s 2.1 million public school teachers now earn an average of $23,546, with schools in Alaska offering the highest pay and those in Mississippi the lowest, the National Education Assn. reported. The NEA said teachers’ salaries rose 7.3% in the last year. The annual survey also reported that schools are spending an average of $3,429 to educate each of the 39.4 million pupils in public elementary and secondary schools, 7.8% more than it cost last year. California, at $26,300, was seventh in the list of states with the highest average salaries.