Marietta Middle School language arts teacher Sandra Wilson came to the district nearly four decades ago out of college and still teaches at the school today with a masters degree, even after she officially retired two years ago.

Wolfe said when she started at the school 27 years ago, it was common to be able to retire after 30 years of teaching, but after decades of law changes and pay adjustments, reaching that point with enough money is no longer a reality.

“For them, it’s nice, because they get a teacher with all the experience at the pay rate of a new teacher,” Wilson said, of coming back as a retiree.

The 2014 report by the National Council on Teacher Quality called “Smart Money” was released Wednesday, and analyzes teachers and school districts across the country to compare what teachers make, how long it takes them to reach a maximum salary and how much buying potential their salaries have.

The study focuses on the salary schedules of 113 school districts in the U.S. in mainly large cities, from Columbus to Washington D.C. to Spokane, Wash.

Marietta City Schools, the largest public district in Washington County, has one of the lowest base pays for teachers in the county and 19 new teachers this year.

“We worked in a 3 percent raise this year, but I know we’re pretty low,” said Superintendent Harry Fleming.

Starting pay rates are typically for a first-year teacher with a bachelors degree and no prior teaching experience. The average teacher salary in Ohio is $57,966.

Fleming said the district’s new negotiated contract with teachers included making some concessions and opting for some “less rich” benefits to give teachers the raise.

Marietta offers a base pay of $29,411 and the potential to earn $58,528 with a masters degree and 30-plus years of experience.

“We’re also a ‘TIF’ district, so we receive money to incentivize pay for teachers,” Fleming said. “They can become teacher leaders and get paid extra.”

Through a grant from Ohio nonprofit Battelle for Kids, both Marietta and Belpre receive money from a Teacher Incentive Fund that allows teachers to take on leadership roles for extra pay.

“They offer that incentive pay here to do extra work. We already do an exuberant amount of work without getting paid more for it,” said Marietta Middle School art teacher Mindy Wolfe.

Next to that, teachers in area school districts earn their way through the “traditional paths”-years of experience and continuing education.

“Teaching isn’t really a ‘climbing the ladder career,'” Wolfe said. “You teach for the students.”

Fleming said though he wants to make sure he is attracting good teachers, there is a balance.

“We want to be healthy financially,” he said. “The balance is, I want to remain competitive, but I want to be staffed to put out the good product we have, so I’m not going to cut out positions just to pay people more.”

Salem-Liberty Elementary third-grade teacher Lynette Stengel is in her fourth year with the district after coming straight out of West Virginia University at Parkersburg into her first teaching position.

“Starting out, I just wanted to get my foot in the door, that’s what was most important,” she said.

But Stengel, a Fort Frye graduate, said the district turned out to be the best choice for her out of the number of interviews she had throughout Washington and Wood counties.

“I feel good about where I am and where I can go while I’m here,” she said.

Frontier Local Schools, which employs 55 teachers, offers a base pay of $26,602 with a step and education maximum of $52,869.

“We are not competitive at all,” said Superintendent Bruce Kidder. “Unless the teacher has a reason to be tied to this area, my young teachers use it as a stepping stone, because they just won’t make the money here.”

Treasurer Frank Antill noted that 22 of the 55 total teachers have less than 10 years of experience.

A traditional salary schedule is based on a system where teachers move up a step each year they spend with the district, and move up again based on their education and overall experience.

Warren Local has one of the highest base pay rates in the county at $31,688.

With a maximum amount of education experience at a masters degree with 30-plus years of teaching experience, Warren teachers can reach up to $63,376 after 28 years of teaching with the district.

In contrast, Wolf Creek, with the highest base pay of traditional schools in the county at $32,087, maxes out at a masters degree with 15-plus years of experience, with pay reaching up to $67,227 after 33 years of teaching with the district.

At the Washington County Career Center the base pay for teachers is $34,087, with a maximum salary of $68,174.

In contrast to traditional public schools, base pay at WCCC is measured by a first-year teacher with a bachelors degree or some sort of vocational certification.

In the study, Columbus schools are the focus in Ohio, with a base pay of $42,420, and a recorded 10 years for a teacher to work before reaching a $75,000 salary level, more than half the amount of time than the national average of 24 years.

Many area teachers choose to stay in the area because of family roots, while others have different reasons for opting for local schools.

New Warren High School science teacher Tyler Schaad is a Warren High School graduate and recent Ohio University graduate, but said that with other job offers and his priorities, that was not the only reason he chose to stay.

“I had one offer that was about one-and-a-half hours away and the other was about 45 minutes, which is the one I seriously considered,” Schaad said. “They were very comparable, but both that school and Warren actually offered to help me pay for my masters.”

Schaad said he also heavily considered insurance and other benefits, but ultimately decided Warren was the best of “all worlds.”

“Salaries were very comparable for first-year teachers for all my choices, but I never thought ‘Oh my gosh I have to work here,'” he said. “As far as advancement opportunities, I feel like you get a similar opportunity everywhere you go.”

Warren Superintendent Kyle Newton said for his district, making sure his staff receives deserving pay and benefits are a top priority.

“We re-negotiated this year with staff, and my people worked really hard, so I do hope that we’re at the top,” he said. “To not validate through what we can give them, it wouldn’t make sense to me.”

Warren hired 16 young teachers this school year, all to fill positions of departing teachers with more experience.

“If we don’t attract young, quality teachers, what are we doing really?” Newton said. “If you’re coming from Cleveland or Columbus, you can return there and make more, so I want to keep them here.”

The report notes that maximum potential salaries vary widely across the country, ranging from $52,325 in Oklahoma City to $106,540 in Washington D.C.

The study also stresses that cost of living in the area is a factor, as Columbus was rated the best “bang for your buck city,” where its relatively low cost of living means that the average teacher’s salary has a buying power of more than $100,000, compared to New York City, which levels out to a buying power for teachers of just more than $23,000.

On a local level, Southeastern Ohio Port Authority data reports that the cost of living in Washington County is 13 percent below the national average, something that teachers noted makes it easier to live in work in the area.

“Out of college, I had choices between here and a school in Mentor, but I chose Marietta because it was peaceful and quiet,” Wilson said. “And it’s just a wonderful place to live.”