Teacher pensions are complex. This post is a part of series to answer the most common questions we get. To submit yours, email us at teacherpensions@bellwethereducation.org -- we’ll try our best to answer.
One of the most common teacher salary questions is whether or not teachers get paid over the summer months. So, do they? Not the most satisfying of answers but, it depends. Teacher payroll schedules vary district-to-district: some allow workers to spread their 10-month salary over 12 months, while others don’t give any paycheck during the summer months, requiring teachers to budget, or in some cases, get a second job.
Below are the public teacher pay schedules for the nation’s 20 largest* districts (as of July 2018). To compile them, I checked state payroll offices for pay day calendars and information regarding summer pay. It was surprisingly challenging to pull some of this data, and I ended up having to call payroll offices to clarify in some cases. Some districts don’t make this information readily available until a teacher is officially in the hiring process, further demonstrating why this is such a common question.
In general, most teachers are either automatically paid throughout the course of a year or have the ability to opt into a program that redistributes their pay for them. But a few districts, like Montgomery County, Maryland and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, reported paying teachers on 10-month schedules.
District | Teacher Payroll Schedule |
The City School District of the City of New York (New York) | Teachers are paid twice a month for 12 months. |
Los Angeles Unified School District (California) | Teachers are paid once a month for 12 months. |
City of Chicago School District (Illinois) | Some instructional roles are 10-month positions, others are 12-month. Twelve-month employees receive 26 checks a year, and 10-month employees receive 21 checks. |
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Florida) | Most teachers are paid on a 10-month schedule. A few specialized instructional roles work on a 12-month schedule and are compensated accordingly. Twelve-month employees receive 26 checks a year, and 10-month employees receive 21 checks. Ten-month employees may opt in to a deferred payment plan to distribute 10-month salary over 12 months. |
Clark County School District (Nevada) | Teachers are paid twice a month for 12 months. |
Broward County Public Schools (Florida) | Most teachers are paid bi-weekly on a 10-month schedule, but may opt into a Year Round Pay program to distribute 10-month salaries over 12 months. A few specialized instructional roles work on a 12-month schedule and are compensated accordingly. |
Houston Independent School District (Texas) | Teachers are paid on a 12-month schedule. Twelve-month employees receive 26 checks a year. |
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) | Teachers are paid bi-weekly on a 10-month schedule, but may opt into an Extended Year Pay program to distribute 10-month salary over 12 months. |
Orange County Public Schools (Florida) | Most teachers are paid bi-weekly (beginning on the third week of their work year) on a 10-month schedule. If requested on or before the last day of preplanning, 10-month teachers may opt in to a deferred payment plan. A few specialized instructional roles work on a 12-month schedule and are compensated accordingly. |
School District of Palm Beach County (Florida) | Teachers are paid on a 12-month schedule. Twelve-month employees receive 26 checks a year. |
Fairfax County Public Schools (Virginia) | Most teachers are paid once a month for 11 months out of the year -- a few specialized instructional roles work on a 12-month schedule and are compensated accordingly. |
Hawai’i State Department of Education | Teachers are paid twice a month for 12 months. |
Gwinnett County Public Schools (Georgia) | Teachers are paid on a monthly basis. The pay cycle begins in August and ends in July of the following year. |
Dallas Independent School District (Texas) | Teachers are paid on a 12-month schedule. Twelve-month employees receive 26 checks a year. |
Wake County Public School System (North Carolina) | Teachers are paid once a month for 10 months. Teachers may opt into a Summer Cash Savings Account program to redistribute their salary over 12 months. |
Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) | Most teachers are paid on a 10-month schedule. A few specialized instructional roles work on a 12-month schedule and are compensated accordingly. |
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (North Carolina) | Teachers are paid once a month for 10 months. |
The School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) | Teachers are paid on a 12-month schedule. Twelve-month employees receive 26 checks a year. |
San Diego Unified School District (California) | Teachers are paid twice a month for 12 months. |
Similar to teacher pension systems, teacher salary schedules and payroll calendars can vary dramatically across state and district lines. This variance, coupled with the level of opacity around district’s individual policies, can impede teachers from making informed decisions about their careers.
*The Department of Education of Puerto Rico is the fourth largest school district. Teacher payroll calendars were not immediately available for the district at publication time.