Dive Brief:

• The average public school teacher salary reached $66,745 in the 2021-22 school year — a 2% jump from the year before, according to a report released Monday by the National Education Association. Salaries are expected to grow by another 2.6% in 2022-23, according to NEA.
• However, when inflation is factored in, the average teacher salary actually dropped an estimated 6.4% — or $3,644 — in the past decade, NEA said.
• The report from the nation’s largest teachers union also said teachers earn 25% more on average when they work in a state that permits collective bargaining. In 2021-22, the average salary for teachers covered by bargaining laws hit $71,966, compared to $57,558 in states without bargaining laws.