FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Great Resignation, it's the slogan tied to Americans who are burnt out by their jobs and now also belongs to Lee County school teachers.
On Monday, the Lee County School District presented several studies to its board members to discuss why teachers in Lee County are walking away from their classrooms for good.
Betsy Vaughn, board member for District 6 says it boils down to, two things.
"The bottom line is, not only underpaid but not respected," said Vaughn.
In order to find answers to this, the district’s Human Resources department surveyed the staff on why they are leaving the district.
District leaders during Monday's meeting said the top three were retirement, inadequate pay, and general working conditions.
While many board members could agree, the pandemic has played a part, adding that 56% of the district’s principals said they were missing one teacher a week due to short-term leave.
It’s financial incentives that may keep teachers in the classroom.
Some of which, an HR representative outlined during the meeting said they have already started doing.
“We provided a retention bonus at the end of 2021 to employees, $1,000 we are also with getting into any more detail about that negotiating that in the future, that's why bargaining is up there," he said.
The district also discussed the idea of flexible schedules to help teachers take care of their physical and mental health, with hopes of increasing the pay for substitutes so teachers can have these breaks.
