Charles Carr has been teaching at Carol City Elementary since 2007. He said he fell in love with teaching early in his career, and is proud to work in Miami-Dade County鈥檚 Miami Gardens, the community where he grew up.
As one of only two full-time male teachers at his school, Carr is an important role model for his students, 77 percent of whom, like him, are Black. He also tutors his students for free after school鈥攁 support most students wouldn鈥檛 be able to afford at the Title I school where he works. But despite Carr鈥檚 commitment to his career, its financial downside creates ambiguity about his professional future.
鈥淎lmost on a weekly basis I think about doing something else because of the money,鈥� he said.
Carr said he can support himself on his annual salary of $54,600 in the pricey South Florida area where he lives鈥攁 35-minute commute to work鈥攐nly because he鈥檚 single with no kids. The trappings typically ascribed to a successful mid-career professional remain out of reach for Carr. He would like to buy a single-family home, for instance, but with starting prices in his area around $400,000, he says that鈥檚 not feasible.
Recent statistics show that Carr鈥檚 situation is not unique. In a nationwide March 2021 survey of nearly 700 teachers conducted by the EdWeek Research Center, 57 percent of respondents said a salary hike would make a major difference in reducing their likelihood of leaving the K-12 teaching profession in the next two years. In recent years, teachers have acted on this impulse. From January through October of 2018, public educators quit at an average rate of 83 per 10,000 a month, the highest since 2001 when the U.S. Department of Labor began tracking this information.
President Biden鈥檚 recent assertions indicate his commitment to improving teachers鈥� financial circumstances. Last week, in his address at the , Biden pointed specifically to his $20 billion increase in the budget for Title 1 schools, which he said would prioritize educator raises.
In the meantime, teachers鈥攚ho, according to recent data by the , earn about 20 percent less than other professionals with similar experience鈥攃ontinue to face financial hardships.
Living on a low salary isn鈥檛 easy
Getting priced out of housing is one of those hardships.
This problem is particularly acute among beginning teachers, as evidenced by a analysis of 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In 278 of 291 metro areas analyzed, new teachers were unable to afford to rent a median-priced unit. In some of the priciest cities鈥攊ncluding San Francisco, Napa, and Salt Lake City鈥攂eginning teachers would have to pay upwards of 90 percent of their salary to live where they work.
To compensate for low wages, many teachers take on second jobs. About 20 percent of teachers work second jobs outside of the school system, according to a recent report by the . The same report noted that, in some states, that figure is as high as 25 percent.
Joy Jackson, who has spent the last 46 years teaching students with emotional disabilities in Miami-Dade County public schools, can relate. Earlier in her career, she worked at department stores to help pay the bills. Now she serves as a pastor at a community church, for which she makes a nominal amount of money. Jackson鈥檚 present teaching salary of around $75,000 doesn鈥檛 stretch far, especially since the untimely death of her daughter two years ago when she began caring for her two grandchildren. She鈥檚 also had to take a second mortgage to make repairs to her aging house. But Jackson鈥檚 financial challenges haven鈥檛 dampened her enthusiasm for her chosen profession.
鈥淚 love what I do,鈥� said Jackson. 鈥淚鈥檓 good at it.鈥�
Jackson describes the relationships she shares with her students as 鈥渁wesome,鈥� in spite of the concussions and broken bones she has suffered over the years at the hands of her students with emotional disturbances.
Asked if she would repeat her career decision again, Jackson said she likely would have started out in teaching, but she鈥檚 not sure she would have stayed as long. 鈥淣umerous have left because of the salary,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淢ore than that, many won鈥檛 come into the profession.鈥�
An association makes a call to improve pay
Recognizing the consequences of low salaries on recruitment and retention, some advocacy groups are taking action. The North Carolina Association of Educators this summer spent six figures on a digital ad campaign urging state officials to boost funding for public schools, with an emphasis on teacher pay raises. It鈥檚 the association鈥檚 first such campaign in a number of years, according to Kevin Rogers, a spokesman for the association.
Rogers said the association would like to see a 10 percent teacher salary increase over the biennium, in line with what North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has proposed. Nationally, North Carolina ranks 43rd in starting teacher pay and 33rd in average teacher pay after incorporating local supplements, which rural locales are far less likely to apply, explains Rogers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 taken us a long time to get where we are, and it will take us a long time to dig out,鈥� he said.
In the meantime, the state鈥檚 public schools confront well over 1,000 vacancies at any given time, according to Rogers; currently, they face a shortage of substitutes as well. Rogers expresses optimism that the calls for increases in teacher salary will be heard.
鈥淓very [state] public opinion poll has put this as a priority,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we want our education to be good, we have to invest in it.鈥�
Rogers鈥� message rings true for teachers. 鈥淪omething has to change,鈥� said Carr, the Miami Gardens elementary school teacher. 鈥淥r else I have to leave education entirely.鈥�
