How do NEA staff salaries, in general, compare to teachers salaries?
LLOYD: There’s no comparison between teachers’ salaries and staff salaries. The average would be three to four times greater than teacher salaries. We figured through the basic NEA field staff contract (the field staff are the people who work for NEA headquarters out of Washington), it costs in excess of $100,000 per person, per year, to keep one of those staff people up and running. And that’s a very conservative figure. In some cases it exceeds $120,000. That includes, of course, the salary and benefits. You’re talking about a real contrast to teachers’ salaries. We also figured, through our knowledge of the budget and through our experience, that approximately 65% of the NEA budget itself goes toward staff salaries and benefits. That’s where the money is going. INSIDERS: What do you think the individual teacher, for example, can do to oppose, not only the goals of the NEA, but the methods in which they’re trying to reach their goal? Is there something that an individual teacher can
