Texas State Teachers Association Finds More Teachers Forced to Moonlight
A study released this month by the Texas State Teachers Association found that forty-four percent of Texas teachers moonlight during the school year, which is the highest percentage of teachers to report since TSTA began sponsoring the survey more than 30 years ago.
The study also revealed that 61 percent of teachers take extra jobs during the summer to make a living. The most recent year the survey was conducted was in 2010, which found that 40.8 percent of teachers held extra jobs during the school year, and 56 percent during the summer.
A driving force behind the change in the two studies is the Texas Legislature's 2011 cuts to public education, which slashed $5.4 billion from our state's classrooms. As reported by the TSTA, since then, average teacher salary has dropped by $528. For teachers who are already underpaid, this is a big hit to take as the cost of living continues to rise. In 2008, only 28 percent of teachers reported moonlighting during the school year. Meaning that in just six years, the number of teachers holding two jobs to make ends meet has nearly doubled.
In a state whose leaders continue to undervalue the quality of public education and their educators, it's easy to see how Texas got to this point. With over a decade of the slash and burn approach to our public education system, our educators have been left with little to work with while our youth pay the price.
More at http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14272/texas-state-teachers-association-finds-more-teachers-forced-to-moonlight .
