Just 2 Of The 28 Members Of The TEA's Teacher Retention Task Force Will Be Teachers

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - When 28 educators from across the state meet this year to study the critical shortage of teachers Texas school districts are face, there will be few teachers among them.

Jean Streepey, a middle school teacher at Highland Park ISD, is just one of two teachers chosen. A former finalist for state teacher of the year, she currently sits on the state board for educator certification.

The rest of the list is made up of superintendents and district administrators.

"It lacks common sense that you wouldn't be asking the teachers themselves what needs to change," said Zeph Capo, President of Texas AFT, a union representing 65,000 school employees.

A survey of its members found that 66% have considered leaving the profession in the last year. When asked what would make them stay, the most common answers were better pay and changes to their workload.

In a press release, the TEA said the task force will rely heavily on the presence and input of current teachers and will include a teacher panel at future meetings.

"They want to have a panel where they may be listening to teachers, but they don't have enough respect for the profession to actually put them in the decision making seats," Capo said.

The TEA said it chose leaders who represent a variety of districts, geographies, and student populations.

Missing from the list, however, is anyone from the state's six largest districts.

Aside from Highland Park ISD, North Texas will have members on the TEA task force from the Aledo, Prosper, and Forney school districts. Besides being smaller, they also happen to be districts with predominantly white student bodies.

It's one more reason Capo said he's skeptical of what can be accomplished. "They're not the districts that are grappling with the toughest time filling the positions."