Can Teachers Negotiate Their Salary?

A seldom shared fact in teacher school is that upon receiving a job offer, you CAN negotiate for a salary increase to the school’s initial offer. I have shared this information with teacher friends of mine and they’ve earned thousands in salary increases as a result.

This may be more difficult in Unionized districts with rigid payscales, but in many private and charter schools, it’s completely acceptable to counter a salary offer made in your teaching contract.

Do your research, find your worth, and be gracious for an offer. Administrators have flexibility on starting salaries. I've never heard of an offer being rescinded on account of a counter-proposal. The worst case scenario is they can't budge the salary, and you're right where you started. Best case scenario, they move up to your suggestion. Research on how to negotiate your salary. A counteroffer email like the example below can be worth thousands of dollars. I'm a former Math teacher and below is an example exchange I had at one of my first schools. If you want to send me a 'thank you' coffee for this information after it works, I wouldn't say no. Hold your ground, do your research, and congrats on the offer! If you have any questions, you can find me @allyofreason on twitter, or email reasonablemanzach@gmail.com.

Original Offer

Dear Mr./Ms. Teacher,

I am delighted to offer you a FT Math teaching position at Great School. As we discussed the primary role will be teaching in grades 9/10 in conjunction with a team of core subject teachers.

The contract dates are date X to date Y. A preliminary look at the salary scale would put your starting salary at approximately 35000 with a bit more if you've completed any graduate credits. ..blah blah insurance stuff.

It would be wonderful to have you aboard. Please let me know if you have any more questions that will help you make an informed decision. I would be grateful for your response as soon as you feel able (by tomorrow?!)

Thanks and warm regards.

Principal Johnson

Sample Response

          Dear Principal Johnson,

First and foremost I would like to thank you for offering me this great opportunity to teach at your school.  I have no doubt we will be a very good match.

While I greatly appreciate your offer and understand school budgets can be stretched thin, based on my market research, I’m looking for a salary starting at $40,000.(or 5% over their initial offer, or whatever your target is).

I think this is a reasonable proposal based on the following:

·         Accomplishment X

·         Accomplishment Y

·         Salary data point from glassdoor/labor statistics

I am very confident with my ability to help students learn math and succeed as young adults. I greatly appreciate your confidence in me and look forward to hearing from you soon.  

Respectfully,

Your Name