Greg Queen doesn’t need a study to know teacher salaries are declining in Michigan.

A decade of sluggish pay increases and rising contributions for health care and retirement benefits left Queen, 50, unable to provide for his family with earnings from a high school teaching job. His wife had retired from teaching when the couple started a family, but returned to work to make up the difference - Queen said it takes two jobs to replace his lost income.

“This is everybody’s story throughout Michigan,” he said.

New data from the National Education Association’s annual rankings and estimates report found the average salary for Michigan teachers declined last year, continuing a 12% decline during the last decade when adjusted for inflation. Only Indiana, West Virginia and Wisconsin have had worse declines in teacher pay during this period.

The study found Michigan the average public school teacher salary dropped from $61,911 to $61,825. Michigan ranks 13th overall across the country for teacher salaries, higher than the national average of $60,477.

Data recently released by the Michigan Department of Education shows the average salary has stagnated since peaking at $63,024 in 2009.

Queen, a teacher since 1991, keeps his own record of changes in teacher pay at the Fitzgerald Public Schools District in Macomb County. Total losses in his take home pay due to the rate of inflation and increases in benefits contributions is 32%, according to his calculations.

Queen calls it “the loss decade.”

Each year, unions bargain for “steps” in pay increases while negotiating teacher contracts.

Queen said contracts in his district include 10 steps for teachers with a bachelor’s degree and 11 for those with a master’s degree had an eleventh step, plus higher pay rates per step.

In the last decade, the Michigan Education Association has only been able to bargain five step increases for teachers in Queen’s district. The value of each step hasn’t increased with inflation either.

Teachers who were already on the top step, like Queen, haven’t seen an increase in their income since 2008.

Meanwhile, take home pay has been reduced significantly as a result of state mandated increases in contributions to retirement pension and retirement health care, state mandated increases in contributions toward health care premiums and forced furlough days.

Many educators aren’t making enough to keep them in the profession, said MEA President Paula Herbart in a statement. One in five stop teaching within the first five years of their career.

The situation is particularly tough on younger teachers who have little opportunity to increase their learning potential, said Cindy Rossi, a special education teacher in Queen’s school district. She’s retiring this year, and wouldn’t recommend anyone enter the field.

“It’s a hopeless situation,” Rossi said. “Anyone that could get out would get out.”

Stagnant and declining starting salaries for teachers and the increasing cost of college have become a deterrent for young people considering the profession, Rossi said.

“I don’t see how they can keep younger teachers coming in, knowing that you’re going to be at that pay for five years,” Rossi said.

Education departments at Michigan universities experienced a 66% decrease in enrollment from 2008 to 2016, according to the MEA.

Starting teacher salaries in Michigan rank 32nd in the nation. Nationwide, 37% of districts have a starting salary of at least $40,000, but only 12% of Michigan districts meet that threshold.

“I wouldn’t recommend going into debt, getting a bachelor’s degree and expecting to be able to pay that debt off and maintain a middle class lifestyle," Queen said. “It’s not going to happen."

Chris Wigent, executive director of the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators, said the situation has created a “teacher shortage.”

Teachers specialized in special education and English as a second language are in high demand across the country. Wigent said many are leaving Michigan for more lucrative jobs in other states.

“Every district has a story to tell about how a position posted hasn’t yielded the same number and quality of candidates,” Wigent said. “Wages might not be as high as a doctor or lawyer, but we were taken care of in pensions and the retirement system, and now that has changed.”

Rossi, 60, said her school district has a hard time filling open positions, especially in special education. Substitutes are also hard to come by, she said.

Hubert connected the salary decline Michigan’s public school funding model. A report released last year by the School Finance Research Collaborative found Michigan is underfunding its schools by approximately $2,000 per student.

Herbart and Wigent are urging state legislators to support Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 budget proposal, which seeks $507 million to invest in students, public school teachers and support professionals.

At the Mackinac Policy Conference Tuesday, Whitmer said years of disinvestment has done “undeniable” damage to the state’s public schools.

Queen said the budget boost isn’t enough. Any funding increases for school districts have to go through local boards of education before reaching teachers.

Michigan teachers should emulate strikes and protests movements in other states, Queen said. Teachers began the “Red for Ed” movement in West Virginia, and demonstrations spread across the country since 2018.

The American Federation of Teachers Michigan and MEA are working together to hold demonstrations at the Capitol in Lansing on June 18 and 25.

“We need to let the public know that we’re not happy anymore,” Queen said.

While politicians and activists argue over budgets, Rossi said teachers on the front line feel undervalued and unappreciated. After 24 years, she’s ready to retire.

“I loved my job,” Rossi said. “I loved it until probably five years ago when I saw that it was never going to get back to what it was. (Teaching) just isn’t valued.”