North Allegheny teachers make the highest average salary in the Pittsburgh region, a state survey shows. The teachers' average pay of $66,138 ranked 28th among 708 school districts, charter schools and intermediate units statewide. The statewide average inched up to $53,281 for the 2004-05 academic year, according to a study to be released this week by the state Department of Education. "Our intention is to get the best teachers we possibly can for our students," said North Allegheny School Board President Maureen Grosheider. "I think the district has a reputation for having very high-caliber teachers, whom we pay well." Salaries statewide range from $78,881 in the Council Rock School District in Bucks County to $21,250 at a small charter school in Centre County. The average teacher salary in Allegheny County is $56,446. Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers, who are negotiating a new contract, make an average of $61,062 -- fourth in the region and 53rd in the state. "It just points out how wealthier districts ... can afford to pay their teachers more, and it's a shame because all teachers should be able to make what teachers in Council Rock make," said Sherman Shrager, vice president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, the union that represents the city's 2,697 teachers. Teachers in the state's eastern districts earn more because of the higher cost of living there, said William Johnson, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, a union representing teachers in 486 of the state's 501 school districts. Salaries are going up by about 1.6 percent this year, compared to an average jump of 5 percent a decade ago, Johnson said, adding that the smaller increase, in part, could be because health and other benefits are consuming a larger share of teacher compensation. Still, Johnson said, "Pennsylvania does pretty well by its teachers." A 2004-05 National Education Survey ranked Pennsylvania 10th nationwide in average teachers' salaries. The state ranked No. 5 five years ago. More than 100 schools ranked ahead of North Allegheny in two other categories on the state survey -- average teachers' experience and average education. But Grosheider said she believes the pay for North Allegheny teachers is well earned. "I think if anyone has been in a classroom and stood in front of a group of students, they understand that the single-most important component of education is the teacher who delivers that instruction," she said. Pittsburgh teachers' salaries ranked ahead of those in Philadelphia -- the state's largest school system -- where the average is $56,373. "We are not the highest in Allegheny County, nor are we the highest in the state, but we want to remain competitive," said Pittsburgh School Board President Bill Isler. Board member Theresa Colaizzi, who heads the negotiating committee, has said the district likely would seek wage concessions. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Pittsburgh teachers ranked 187th in experience and 234th in average education. Teachers reach the top of the pay scale in just 10 years in Pittsburgh Public Schools -- sooner than in most districts, said Peter Camarda, the district's budget-development chief. Top scale in Pittsburgh is $74,000, compared to $90,000 in North Allegheny and the high $90,000s in Council Rock, said John Tarka, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers and executive director of the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers. The district generally compares itself to other districts in Allegheny County-- where it competes for teachers, Camarda said. "We haven't looked at anything statewide," he said. "We look at where we are in Allegheny County."

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