How West Morris, Washington Township Teachers Salaries Rank In NJ

LONG VALLEY, NJ – Getting a six-figure salary as a teacher isn't impossible anymore – even as many New Jersey school districts are dealing with declining state aid. Indeed, one New Jersey school district has an annual median pay of $113,869 while 19 others earn $90,000 or more.

After delays caused by the COVID crisis, the state released information to Patch this week that shows how much your school district, special services district, vocational district and charter school have been paying teachers this past year.

West Morris Regional School District ranked 111th in the state with teachers earning an average of $76,650 in the 2020-21 school year, according to state education data. Meanwhile, Washington Township Public Schools in Morris ranked 180th in the state with teachers earning an average of $72,815. West Morris ranked 27th in the state in terms of the pay increase that teachers received from the previous year with a 10.52 percent hike in pay. Washington Township Schools ranked 43rd in the state with a 9.18 percent increase in salary.

Both of the local districts pay slightly higher than the state average for teachers of $70,815.

A full list of the state rankings for salaries and how much teacher’s pay either increase or dipped can be found here.

The information is part of the state Department of Education's Taxpayer's Guide to Education Spending that was just released, showing the median salary in every New Jersey school district and charter school.

“For decades, the Department of Education’s annual guide has provided members of the public with insight and information about the expenditures of their public school district,” said Angelica Allen-McMillan, acting commissioner of the state Department of Education. “This kind of transparent, unfiltered information can be the first step toward helping residents better understand the needs and priorities of their local schools.”

Read more: Gov. Murphy Releases New NJ State Aid Figures For Schools

Overall, 231 school districts make more than the state median of $70,815, a 2 percent increase over the previous year. And it's not just the big towns or the regional districts that pay the most: Indeed, Ocean City is a great place to get a teaching job, where the median salary is $91,865. So is West Orange, which has a median salary of $90,172.

Patch also determined the difference in salaries between 2019 and 2020. Northfield in Atlantic County had the biggest increase, shooting to $78,482, a 45.71 percent increase. Stone Harbor in Cape May County had the biggest decrease, sinking to $67,565, a -18.68 percent drop.

The salary increases came to many districts despite suffering losses in state aid and the rising costs of getting kids back to school amid the COVID crisis.

In addition to median salaries, the state Department of Education site also shows each district's total spending, average daily enrollment and students from sending districts, the per-pupil costs and the district's total budget spending for 2019 and 2020.

Patch editor Tom Davis contributed reporting to this report.