Union representing teachers say low pay, heavy workloads contribute to shortage

The union representing 39.000 teachers in Colorado claims low pay and heavy workloads are contributing to the shortage of classroom teachers in public schools. The State of Education report by the Colorado Education Association found that teachers in the state make on average nearly 36% less than comparably educated professionals. 

Workload and low pay have been cited as the most common reasons teachers consider leaving the profession. Sixty-seven percent of teachers polled say they are "very" or "somewhat worried" about a mass shooting at their school. 

One legislative initiative backed by the union would have Colorado be part of an interstate teacher mobility compact, to ease the process for getting a teaching license in the state for teachers moving from out of state. 

"Right now in our district, we have over 40 special education openings some of which have been open since last year in both the para and classroom teacher space. This means that we are asking our educators sometimes to do double the amount of work," said Dave Lockley from Adams 12 Educators' Association.   

"Just a little over 60% of our educators have reported a high-stress level due to these shortages and a lack of planning time because they are covering classes during that lack of planning time," said Brooke Williams with the Jefferson County Education Association.  

A total of 85% of the teachers surveyed said they felt the shortage of teachers right now is worse than it has been previously.