A survey from the Arizona Division of Schooling reveals over 4,200 trainer positions are crammed by long-term substitutes, scholar academics, third-party distributors, or current academics working via their planning interval.
This makes up about 7% of all of the positions accessible for the 2025-26 faculty yr. The survey additionally reveals that over 1,000 academics left their positions after July 2025, or about 1.8% of all academics within the 2025-26 faculty yr. Final yr, that quantity was 1.1% of all academics.
Nonetheless, the survey confirmed the general proportion of unfilled positions decreased from the earlier faculty yr. About 2.4% of positions — a complete of 1,400 — had been unfilled within the 2025-26 faculty yr, decrease than the prior yr’s charge of about 2.8%.
In line with Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, low trainer salaries are partly in charge for the scarcity.
“That is an insupportable scenario and should be addressed instantly. Academics have been underpaid for years, and so they have additionally been discouraged by an absence of administrative assist for classroom self-discipline,” mentioned Horne.
The Division of Schooling reached out to all public schooling and constitution districts within the state with 83% of them responding. The survey was carried out in late August.
The trainer retention charge has remained stagnant in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges. Out of just about 60,000 academics in public colleges and constitution districts, about 20% of academics both left or switched colleges within the 2024-25 faculty yr.
When in comparison with the nationwide common for trainer retention charges within the 2021-22 faculty yr, the newest knowledge accessible, Arizona had a decrease retention charge by 6%.
In line with a survey from the Arizona Division of Schooling in 2024, the vast majority of academics left their district as a consequence of burnout, lack of administrative assist for classroom self-discipline and a need for higher pay. Horne has known as the dearth of attracting and retaining academics throughout public faculty and constitution districts a disaster.
“Briefly, nearly any classroom trainer can let you know what they should thrive as educators and lead college students to tutorial excellence. Higher pay and strong assist from directors on self-discipline are important,” mentioned Horne.
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In 2016, Arizona voters authorized Proposition 123, which elevated the distribution of the state’s Everlasting Land Endowment Belief Fund to public colleges from 2.5% to six.9% for the following ten years. The measure handed by a slim margin of lower than 2%.
These funds supplied an approximate $300 million to varsities every year and contributed to trainer and employees compensation, in addition to faculty safety and security. Income is generated from the sale or leasing of state belief land and in response to the Arizona Treasurer’s Workplace, the belief fund is at present valued at $9.75 billion.
Horne and Gov. Katie Hobbs urged legislators to resume Proposition 123 earlier than it expired in June 2025.
“If we fail to behave, we’re throwing away a possibility to fund trainer pay raises and provides Arizona’s kids the chance they deserve – all with out elevating taxes on a single Arizonan,” mentioned Hobbs in a press release.
Legislators failed to succeed in consensus on Proposition 123 by the June deadline, leading to a $200 million shortfall to public colleges that must be made up by the state’s Normal Fund.
Sending a Prop 123 renewal invoice to the poll will probably be a key precedence for lawmakers within the upcoming legislative session, however voters will nonetheless have to approve on the measure.
Protection of schooling options on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is partially supported by a grant from the Arizona Native Information Basis’s Arizona Neighborhood Collaborative Fund.
This text initially appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona superintendent says low pay led to trainer scarcity