GREENWICH — Teacher burnout and frustration remains on the rise in Connecticut and Greenwich Public Schools is no exception, according to Greenwich Education Association President Lillian Perrone.
“We’re not immune to this,” Perrone said at a mid-October school board business meeting. “I’ve been talking about this for a couple years, about the teacher shortage and retention.”
Perrone referenced a new survey from the Connecticut Education Association that looked at what Connecticut teachers face on a daily basis.
The survey found that 77 percent of the 7,635 educators who took the survey are burned out and frustrated, an 8 percentage points increase over last year. The CEA survey also asked what would help address the teacher shortage — and while 97 percent of respondents said “more planning and prep time,” 99 percent of them said more competitive salaries would help address the crisis.
“We have to really take a look at this seriously because the Greenwich teachers are feeling the stress, feeling the anxiety, feeling the lack of support and that takes money,” Perrone said. “It takes money and I do not want to hear ‘We don’t have the money.’ I’m hearing it from administration, different people — I mean, what a headline that would be — ‘Greenwich: We have no money.'”
Superintendent Toni Jones said in a statement that her team is “mindful of the stress and pressure our teachers are under” and that the district and union are working together “to do what we can to keep a healthy and positive working environment.”
This year, Jones said, the district added an extra day before the start of schools to allow teachers more time to prepare for their students.
“The district made sure that every building had 12 hours of unscheduled time so that the year would start off on a positive note,” she said.
And, of course, Greenwich has a competitive salary scale, Perrone said: a teacher with a bachelor’s degree starts at $57,000 a year; starting salary for a teacher with a master’s degree is $63,000. However, Greenwich may lose its edge as other districts increase their teacher salaries, Perrone said.
Bridgeport Schools, for instance, has a new union contract that raises teacher pay over the next four years by more than 17 percent. The starting salary for new educators will be more than $50,000.
“So, what does that tell you?” Perrone said. “Teachers aren’t going to come down to Greenwich and travel that commute for almost equal salary. They are going to stay in their area and work in their schools until they get their tenure and maybe come down here. So I anticipate that we may not be as fortunate as we’ve been in these last couple years because the salaries are getting competitive.”
The CEA survey also shows that for 66 percent of the respondents, student behavior is a very serious issue. Perrone said that Greenwich teachers have faced verbal harassment, threats or violence from students.
“That happens here,” Perrone said. “I’m sorry to say, it does. That’s the fact and part of that is resources, supporting our budget.”
Jones said that one of the district’s new strategic plan goals is “focused on increasing the positive working environment for teachers and staff.”
“We agree with the sentiments from GEA that GPS must stay laser-focused so that our district continues to be a premier destination for educators in this region,” Jones said. “We need great teachers to have an outstanding school system.”
