CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Despite teacher salaries starting at $52,000 per year in the Coastal Bend, many teachers are retiring early because of security concerns according to a survey conducted by the American Federation of Teachers.
The survey of more than 5,000 Texas educators showed that as much as 42-percent of them are considering leaving the teaching profession before the fall.
Many teachers are citing the lack of security in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.
"The percentage of teachers who say they don't want to go back falls around 75-to 80-percent because of the fear of security," said Nancy Vera, President of the Corpus Christi chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. "From what we can see, there are numerous people who are retiring and going into the private sector or going to private schools to teach because they feel safer in private schools."
The survey also showed that 90-percent of Texas school employees have worried about a shooting happening at their school, and 42-percent said the Uvalde shooting may impact their decision to return to school.
It's not just teachers the district is in need of. An auxiliary job fair was held Wednesday at Ray High School to fill some 166 job positions that were posted on the CCISD website.
"We are facing the same staffing shortages similar to everyone nationwide right now," said Debbie Cruz, Chief Human Resources Officer at CCISD.
Even though teachers may be leaving the profession, there are still some excited about getting in the door.
"I'm going to school for kinesiology, so I still want to work with children in my field," applicant Ashley Jones said. "I like working with kids so I want to get experience and grow a relationship with the kids."
If you're interested in working for the district, here is a list of posted job openings.
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