This document provides the results of a 5-year comparison of characteristics of professional staff between the years of 1982-83 and 1987-88 in the California Public Schools. Professional staff members include all certificated personnel employed full-time or part-time and noncertificated personnel serving at the level of superintendent, deputy, associate, or assistant superintendent. The characteristics of professional staff in this report include racial or ethnic group, sex, highest educational level, type of appointment, age, years of experience in the district, total years of educational service, and salary. Tables 1 through 7 show characteristics of professional staff based on their assignments, along with a statewide summary for professional staff. Tables 8A and B show average salaries and the number of full-time-equivalent professional staff employed in different types of school districts. (SI)

"Daniel DiSalvo contends that the power of public sector unions is too often inimical to the public interest"--