Beachwood Teacher Pay Is Third-Highest in Ohio

has the third-highest average teacher salary in the state, after Orange and Solon, the Ohio Department of Education reports.

Beachwood City Schools’ average teacher salary is $80,203. and Orange — the highest in the state — is $81,534. The average teacher salary in Ohio is $54,000.

Even before hearing that Solon and Orange’s average teacher salaries were so close to Beachwood’s, Markwardt named them as benchmarks for Beachwood City Schools.

The districts’ students and residents have similar racial, income and education demographics to Beachwood, said Markwardt, which leads to “similar strengths and challenges.”

The salary is high compared to the state average — which is $54,000 — because the district hires more-experienced teachers with higher degrees, said Markwardt. “It’s a rare instance indeed to have a teacher that gets hired right out of college in Beachwood.”

“We have some of the best teachers in the state, and we pay them well,” he added.

Nearly 83 percent of Beachwood’s teachers hold master’s degrees, which is the 15th-highest rate in the state and more than Orange.

But in experience, the district is behind half the state’s districts, ranking at 297 with an average of 15 years; and the district is in the bottom 100 districts in its teacher attendance rate: 93.7 percent.

To compare, Orange’s average experience is 13 years and Solon’s is 16. Both schools have slightly higher attendance rates than Beachwood.

The lowest average salary is $32,894 in the Southern Local School District in Meigs County in Southeast Ohio.

The Beachwood Federation of Teachers is in the third year of a three-year contract, said Markwardt. The contract, which began in the 2009-2010 school year, included 1.5-, 2- and 2.5-percent raises for teachers.

TOP 10 HIGHEST AVERAGE TEACHER SALARIES STATEWIDE