Clark County School District is hosting a recruiting event in the Los Angeles area this weekend aimed at bringing in teachers to Las Vegas.
They say many teachers have been moving to Nevada from California looking for a lower cost of living. Although the average starting salary for a teacher with no experience is around $10,000 less from CCSD to the Los Angeles Unified School District, your money goes a lot further in Las Vegas when it comes to taxes, rent, gas, and food.
"It's intriguing for those individuals because they will be able to buy a home eventually in Las Vegas where they may never be able to afford a home in the Los Angeles area," says Tya Mathis-Coleman, director of recruitment for CCSD.
She says this is the second year recruiters and principals have traveled to California for events. They say many of the people moving are new teachers, but they also say they offer competitive salaries for teachers with some experience under the belt.
Cost Comparison:
Las Vegas:
- CCSD Starting Salary: $40,900
- Average home price: $249,000
- State income tax on Avg. Starting salary: $0
Los Angeles:
- LA Unified School District Starting Salary: $50,238 - $54,831 range
- Average home price: $663,500
- State income tax on Avg. Starting salary: $1,857 (single), $789 married
In a statement, the Los Angeles Unified School District tells they're not worried about the competition from Las Vegas:
L.A. Unified focuses much of the effort on recruiting teachers from within - through our Career Ladder and District Intern (DI) programs, as well as through strong partnerships with our local universities. Many of our teachers are products of L.A. Unified, and are invested in our schools and our communities. We aren't terribly concerned with poaching from Clark County or other districts, because the teachers who work for us do so for more than just salary - they are here to make a difference in their community. You can't find that elsewhere.
