What’s in a salary for a Las Cruces teacher?

How much does the average teacher at Las Cruces Public Schools actually make?

We originally brought you this number from Deputy Superintendent Gabe Jacquez:

“An average teacher salary that we budget for is right around $75,000, if you look at in the perspective of teachers in classrooms,” Jacquez said.

However, that $75,000 number didn’t sit well with many of our viewers.

One emailed: “There is no way the average salary of a teacher in Cruces is 75,000 a yr.”

Anther commented on Facebook: “Average teacher pay is $75,000???? Ummm, yeah, no.”

In my broadcast report, I neglected to mention the $75,000 is salary plus benefits and retirement.

To further clarify, the average salary of a certified classroom teacher is actually $50,000 per year plus $25,000 in benefits and retirement, according to the district.

A district spokesman told ABC-7 that benefits vary widely per employee. However, he said benefits are roughly 40% of an employee’s salary.

Benefits include retirement and insurance, which includes health, dental, vision, disability. Medicare, social security and state unemployment are also included.

The low end salary for a Las Cruces teacher is about $34,000 and the high end is $61,000, according to the district.

“I make $36,000,” said Alisa Tafoya, a teacher with six years’ experience and a master’s degree. “You add in my benefits and everything like that, it’s still far from that number.”

She told me that only level three teachers could make $50,000 a year.

“They must have several teachers at a level three to be able to get such a large number,” Tafoya said. “It’s just not representative of the entire population of teachers.”