NJ Policy Institute Forces NJEA to Admit $120 Million Spent by Its Super PAC Was Political. When Will NJEA Admit It Was ALL Funded by Teachers’ Dues?
September 3, 2026It’s a new school year and, like clockwork, the NJEA has again raised New Jersey teachers’ annual dues to $1,171, up 3.9% from last year and 12.8% over the past three years. That brings a teacher’s total dues burden (including national, county, and local dues) to $1,652 a year. The NJEA likes to claim that New Jersey’s public schools are #1 in the nation, which is highly debatable, but one thing is absolutely certain: New Jersey teachers continue to pay the highest dues in the nation — by far. NJEA dues are 30% higher than the California Teachers Association and more than double the Massachusetts Education Association. New Jersey is a high-cost-of-living state, but here it’s their own union putting the squeeze on teachers. And for what? So NJEA leadership can waste $45 million of their dues on former-President Sean Spiller’s vanity run for governor and drop the ball on improving teachers’ inadequate Tier 5 pensions? Spiller is gone and the NJEA has new leadership, but the scam continues.
The NJEA hikes annual dues another 3.9% and 12.8% over the last three years. The NJEA just raised teachers’ dues again to $1,171 from last year’s $1,127, a 3.9% hike. That makes for a total increase of 12.8% over the last three years. Everyone knows New Jersey has one of the highest costs of living in the nation, yet NJEA leadership has no qualms about putting the squeeze on teachers.
NJEA dues are still the highest in the nation — by far. As in the past, we compare the NJEA with California Teachers Association, NEA-Alaska, and Michigan Education Association, all of which have long been among the unions with highest dues in the nation. We added Massachusetts because it is a state to which the NJEA often compares New Jersey’s public education system. Incredibly, NJEA dues are more than double what a Massachusetts teacher pays.
- NJEA 2026-27 dues: $1,171
- California Teachers Association 2026-27 dues: $899. NJEA dues remain 30% higher than CTA dues.
- NEA-Alaska 2026-27 dues*: $844. NJEA dues are 39% higher.
- Michigan Education Association 2026-27 dues: $655. MEA dues have been capped at $655 since 2020-21. NJEA dues are now 79% higher.
- Massachusetts Education Association 2026-27 dues: $566. NJEA dues are 107% higher, or more than double MEA dues.
Total dues burden for a New Jersey teacher: $1,652. The total dues burden (including NJEA, NEA, local, and county dues) of $1,652 is $67 higher than last year, or up 4.2%. That’s a lot of money for a New Jersey teacher, who on average earns $84,974 a year. It’s even more for a beginning teacher who earns $58,727 a year.
- NJEA dues: $1,171
- NEA dues $234 (up 6.8% from $219)
- Local Association dues**: $198
- County Association dues**: $49
- Total: $1,652
And for what? So NJEA leadership can waste $45 million of dues on Spiller’s vanity run for governor and drop the ball on improving the inadequate Tier 5 pensions that over half of teaches are stuck with? In a fair world, after their profligate (and deceitful) waste of $45 million of dues, NJEA leadership would own up to their malfeasance and perhaps give teachers a break on dues. But in the real world of the NJEA, they pretend the Spiller scandal never happened and jack up teachers dues another 3.9% to $1,171 a year.
Spiller is gone and the NJEA has new leadership, but the scam continues.
*Per the NEA-Alaska bylaws, annual dues are set at 1% of a teacher’s salary for the preceding year. The average teacher salary in Alaska was $84,373 for 2025-26.
** NJEA and NEA dues have historically comprised 85% of total dues, which implies a total dues level of $1,652. Local dues have averaged 12% and county dues 3% of the total, which we used to interpolate the local and county dues levels.