It's a short way to the top if you're a Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher.
Teachers in city schools reach the peak of their pay scale faster than most other teachers in the state, a factor that school spending experts said is contributing to the district's financial woes. It had an operating deficit of $21.7 million in 2012.
"That's got to be an exorbitant cost to the district," said Steve Gunn, spokesman for Education Action Group, a Michigan-based nonprofit that examines teacher contracts nationwide. "They may be fairly close in what they pay, but it takes a lot longer to reach the top of the scale at other districts."
Teachers reach the top of the district's pay scale in 10 1⁄2 years, compared with an average of about 17 1⁄2 years at most other districts across the state, records show. Teacher salaries and benefits make up 49 percent of the city school district's $530 million budget.
An analysis shows that a Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher with a bachelor's degree would be paid $130,000 more over his or her first 19 years than a teacher in the Fox Chapel Area School District, which is among the highest-paying districts in Allegheny County, according to records.
District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said the fewer steps in the district's pay scale is offset by higher pay in other districts.
However, data from the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which represents 483 of the state's 501 school districts, shows that PPS salaries aren't much lower than the county average and exceed the state average.
City teachers with bachelor's degrees max out at $80,300, while those with master's degrees top out at $84,300. In districts within Allegheny County, the top of the pay scale is $90,400, and the statewide average is $73,900, according to the PSEA, which does not represent PPS.
Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, which represents the district's 2,300 teachers, said the district's urban setting and 25,000 students in 64 schools make it unique.
Pittsburgh Public Schools is the second largest school district in the state behind the School District of Philadelphia, which has 146,000 students. No other district in the state has a similar setting and enrollment figures.
Esposito-Visgitis said the quick rise to the top of the pay scale, which predates her 30-year involvement with the union, is an incentive for teachers to work there.
"It's all a trade-off," she said.
Carey Harris, president of A+ Schools, a local education advocacy group, said the district's financial problems stem from steady revenue but increased expenses. Pittsburgh Public Schools has more school buildings, staff and students than its peer districts.
"The reason why we spent so much is because we had so much," Harris said. "We did that because we could, but we just can't do that anymore."
The district cut 217 nonunion central office positions last year and, under the 2010 contract with the teachers' union, teachers hired after July 1, 2010, are on a separate pay scale based on performance.
The union has agreed to curb some fringe benefits for a year, but district officials said the cuts were not enough and announced it has begun the process to furlough 400 teachers.
Bill Johns, a financial analyst who studied the district's finances for A+ Schools, said the impact of the furloughs will be muted because teachers losing their jobs aren't likely to be at the top of the pay scale. The district has said teachers with less seniority will be the first cut.
"Changing the contract over 20 years would make a difference, but it wouldn't make an immediate difference," Johns said. "It wouldn't save the district in its current fiscal dilemma. It's only going to make a difference over the next 20 years as current teachers die off."
