$10,000 pay increase proposed in effort to stop Arizona teachers from quitting

PHOENIX — Arizona schools are facing a teacher shortage, and the problem is only getting worse.

More than 1,000 teachers have quit in just four months, according to an Arizona Department of Education study.

“It is a crisis because we’re losing more teachers than are coming into the profession. So, that’s a real crisis,” said State Schools Chief Tom Horne.

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In addition, 52,913 certified teachers in the state are serving in positions outside of a classroom or may not be working within education, according to Horne’s office.

He tells 12News that a $10,000 raise per teacher will help solve the problem. 

He said state Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, has pushed for that, but it has not passed.

“That would have put us in the top 10 for starting salaries,” Horne said. 

The average starting pay for Arizona teachers is $46,128, according to the National Education Association. That ranks Number 23 in the nation.

Meanwhile, the overall average pay for teachers in Arizona is $62,714. That’s Number 29 in the nation.

Horne notes that about 4,000 vacancies are being filled by long-term substitutes, and there are 1,400 unfilled positions.

Of the 1,055 teachers who quit, the resignations are about evenly divided between district and charter schools, according to Horne’s office. Nearly 300 teachers quit after the school year began.

He also said teachers are leaving because of discipline problems with students.

While teacher pay is in the middle among other states, Arizona ranks at or near the bottom in overall state spending for public education. 

That results in fewer adults to assist teachers.

“Right now, if a student gets sick, and I don’t have a health aide, who’s dealing with that? The teacher is,” said Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association. “We need more people in our school.”

Garcia agreed with Horne that Arizona teachers are underpaid, as most work at least 60 hours a week. 

The two also agreed that voters must pass a continuation of Proposition 123 next year, or the problems will get worse.

 Voters in 2016 passed a constitutional amendment that settled a lawsuit over K-12 education funding. It increased yearly distributions for education from Arizona’s State Land Trust.

Arizona Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, is one of the key budget writers at the Capitol.

He told 12News that a continuation of Prop 123 would generate about $300 million annually, enough to give teachers a $4,000 raise.

Kavanagh said it would take about $750 million to fund a $10,000 raise and pay associated, required expenses such as pension, Social Security, and Medicare costs.

There are 60,686 K-12 teachers currently in the classroom, with 49,393 in district K-12 schools and 11,293 in charter schools, which are privately run but publicly funded. 

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