Across North Texas, there are hundreds of job openings in schools across the area. Districts have been doing what they can to stay competitive in the market and for many of them, that means raising pay.
According to a new ranking from the National Education Association, Texas public school teachers made, on average, $57,641 in the 2020-2021 school year. That is $7,612 less than the national average of $65,293, according to the report, ranking Texas at number 27 in the country. New York is ranked first and Mississippi ranking last (51, counting the District of Columbia).
Advertised increases in pay or added bonuses are pushing some to make decisions that include different districts.
Teachers like Brigitte Durham, who was recently hired in the Garland ISD as an elementary school teacher, have taken notice.
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“If you really want to foster a good environment for these kids to live in, you have to invest in them,” Durham said. “I also was really looking at the different opportunities that I could have in Garland. [Opportunities] to further my educational career. I enjoyed how they connected to diverse backgrounds for teachers and students. I really thought it would be a good place to plant here for the rest of my teaching career.”
Retention has become a buzz word throughout the summer, with districts holding hiring fairs and offering up big pay raises in hopes of keeping educators.
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“The price of living has gone up in every area and just knowing that, I have that extra cushion and money. I think knowing that they had increased their salary talked a lot about how they valued their teachers," Durham said.
There were several districts announcing teacher pay increases this coming school year, including Arlington, Fort Worth and Highland Park ISD’s, just to name a few.
