TEXAS TEACHER'S PAY - A study released this week finds more teachers in the Lone Star state are taking second jobs to supplement their income. The Texas State Teachers Association, or TSTA, conducted the survey of nearly 1-thousand educators. Four-in-ten said they needed second jobs to make ends meet. TSTA president Noel Candelaria expects thisnumber to grow.
“Based on conversations I’ve had with teachers across the state there are more and more that are looking at taking second jobs when they’re already facing increases to their health insurance starting on September 1st.”
Candelaria says the state legislature needs to adequately fund public education, and that includes contributing to teacher salaries.
“Right now, we’re 73-hundred dollars below the national average, ranking 29th the country, so bringing that up to the national average, increasing teacher pay across the state, and not just leaving it up to individual school districts.”
Just over half of the survey respondents said they were considering leaving the teaching profession because of salaries.