Newark, for example, an Abbott district, spent $12,293 per student, while its average teacher pay was $61,910.

Although other public schools will have trouble offering shares of stock, teachers union officials say it's about time some creative thinking went into teacher pay.

Then, too, teacher pay must rise enough to attract high-ability college students to good training programs.

Dalton worked to increase teacher pay while also reducing class sizes.

Administrators say that this money has been allocated to other purposes and cannot be used for teacher pay.

Over the next two years, teacher pay went up $4,400, the fastest growth rate in the nation.

The state's average teacher pay, $22,579 in 1989-90, was about $7,000 less than the national average.

One of the main problems was teacher pay, which began as low as $9,000 in some districts.

Starting teacher pay last year was $39,300 and teachers usually have to work more than two decades to reach top pay.

Proposes to increase teacher pay and break up largest high schools.