Teachers in one of San Francisco’s richest suburbs are so underpaid that a philanthropist just gave each of them $9,161

It’s no secret teachers in the U.S. are widely underpaid.

Despite putting in far more work hours than other adults each week, teachers in many states make less than the U.S. median salary of about $64,220.

So one philanthropist decided to do something about it.

Last week, more than 100 teachers, counselors, and advisors from a school in a suburb of San Francisco were asked to attend a last-minute meeting, according to The San Francisco Standard—and each was handed a check for $9,161.70.

Longtime local philanthropist Maja Kristin donated $1 million to make that happen.

“We, as citizens, can write a direct check, Kristin told TV station KRON4 .

“My hope was … word would get out, and Marin residents who value public education would step forward one way or another, whether it’s a direct gift or a political act, or foundation pull or something.” Even though Marin County is one of the wealthiest suburbs of San Francisco, with a median household income of nearly $150,000, teachers in the Ross Valley School District were paid only about $64,000.

Meanwhile, other starting salaries for teachers in Marin County are as high as almost $80,000, according to data from Ross Valley School District.

And, mid-range salaries can be as high as about $142,000 in Marin County, but Ross Valley trails behind at just $102,000, the data shows.

So, Kristin believes teachers being just about $64,000 in Ross Valley is gross underpayment.

“I have three kids, and there’s lots of activities that they want to do that we can’t always afford to pay for because of my salary,” teacher Anna Schnell told KRON4 .

“And it’s with this kind [of] money that there are things I can say yes to that they want to do, so it’s really exciting and huge for our family.” Kristin isn’t the only donor bypassing institutions to put money directly in educators’ hands.

Last year, an anonymous San Francisco tech worker gave $1.6 million so that all 6,000 teachers and paraeducators in San Francisco Unified received a $250 gift card .

Businessman and TV personality Marcus Lemonis also cut $18,000 checks to every staff member at his Miami high school alma mater in 2021.