No, that has nothing to do with why NY school taxes are so high. In the mid 70's the teachers were allowed to unionize. This led to a political voting block funded by union dues that bought off a majority of politicians. School spending skyrocketed, without a concomitant rise in any metric of education achievement. Ultimately the school boards became populated with ex teachers and teacher family members. So budget and payroll increases are rubber stamped year to year.
I requested and got all records of the local school district budgets and contracts when I ran for school board. I was blown away. Average teacher with 10 years experience was making over $100K in the local elementary school. Combined with the matching pension contributions and benefits they made the equivalent of $150-160 K for working a partial year.
They have essentially bankrupted local communities. When I left NY my local school district had a $16 million yearly budget, with 1100 students. I just looked them up a few weeks ago and they were at $23 million with under 900 students. End of story.
Did you win a position on that district's school Board? Have you run for the school board where you moved. What state did you choose to move to and did the cost of education and property taxes factor in?
It might interest you to know that public School Districts with the least number of students spend more per student. Likewise, the smaller the school, the more percentage wise or per student it costs to operate. This is why school districts are building fewer, but larger schools. Maine, for example has loads of tiny school districts. School funding at the local level can be prohibitive, leaving some of these districts underwater.
One way to lower student and operating costs is for smaller school districts to merge with larger ones. Many times people resist the districts doing this because they simply don't want to become a part of a larger district.
In 2019, New York had the highest average teacher salary @ $85,300. In 2020 Oregon's median teacher salary is $57,671. In NY the 2020 median teacher salary is $62,130. It's important to factor in differences in cost of living. NY's is clearly higher than Oregon's
In 2016, New York spent $22,366 per student, $15,746 went for education and $6,130 went for support services. In contrast, Oregon spent $10,842 per student, $6,327 for education and $4,123 to support services. The biggest expense for all school districts is on salaries and benefits.
When you say matching pension, do you mean the district matches the amount a teacher contributes to their retirement? The way you worded it, it could be interpreted to mean the district contributed an amount that matches the teachers' wages. Many private corporations match whatever an employee contributes to their pension, usually within a limit.
Oregon school districts float bonds for construction and operating costs. These bond levies are voted on by the residents of the district. To pass, a super majority is needed. this means more then 50% of all registered voters must vote. A majority of those 50 +% is required. In other words, it isn't easy to get levies passed. Not surprisingly, neighborhoods with the highest median income are most likely to pass school bonds.
