The simple fact is that the reason many states are in such bad financial shape is the generous early pensions they provide to government workers. Back in the 1970s, pension accounting became a hot topic. Companies had underfunded pension liabilities, stockholders got concerned, so they passed a bunch of changes through the Financial Accounting Standards Board to require accurate and fair reporting of pension liabilities. All public companies need to use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and are thus required to report these pensions fairly. Guess what though. Government doesn't have to adhere to those rules. So you have a lot of State and local government politicians with short term interests, with nobody wanting to communicate the bad news, continuing to dig a deeper and deeper hole with these obligations that are unfunded. I have a pension at my company. Some of it is funded and some of it is not. I know exactly how much falls into what category. I know how much is at risk. Teachers in my state don't. They think it's all due to them and it's guaranteed. It's why my state is bankrupt. It's why we have the highest combined taxes of any state in the US. The average household owes $90,000 on these pensions. Think about that and let it sink in. That's the average taking all the people who won't be able to pay anywhere near that much money into the system. If you're going to increase salaries or provide better pension benefits, you have to find a place for the money to come from and bankrupt states aren't a good place to look. Why stop with the generous pensions? It's because we can't afford it. It's why big corporations, though pressured by unions for many years to keep increasing these benefits, had to cut back on them. They couldn't afford them either. It was a matter of survival. If you look at this article, which is a little old, it provides further perspective on pay.
Low Teacher Pay And High Teacher Pay Are Both Myths
You think? There is another way to look at it. It's an opportunity for people who have solid work experience to give students the benefit of their considerable practical experience in the workplace. They aren't doing it for the money because it's peanuts ($3,000 - $4,000 per class?). It's because they want to give back. I've had adjunct faculty in the past and they were for the most part excellent.
I got that from someone who worked at NASA for 30 years. He was a physicist who ended up quitting because he hated his pencil pusher procurement job so much. He wouldn't agree with you that the opportunities were exciting. He would say all the exciting work is being farmed out to contractors.
I agree pouring more money in isn't an answer. Look to Chicago for the results of that. I'm also not in support of the status quo I actually believe this issue to be pretty important. As an example, what do we do to prepare people to work in the trades? Nothing. Why should grade school and high school do nothing to educate people on skills they need for a job? Why does everyone have to go to college to get a good one? It's one of the biggest failings in our current system.
I'm not sure of this report accurately reflects what people should do, but it's one possibility.
https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mc...roved_school_systems_keep_getting_better.ashx
Bloomberg initiated a lot of changes in NYC. It sounds like some of the things worked and others didn't.
A Quick Study on Mike Bloomberg’s Education Record as Mayor
