Don't Come To Prescott For Teaching Jobs!

[bluebelt1234]

Originally Posted by Pettrix

Without getting into a debate here with you, I have lived ELSEWHERE besides Prescott and I loved it. The reason I moved here was due to a job relocation. Now, I am moving out. So, I am leaving.

I already found a better home, better job and better area. I can get a bigger home, bigger lot, all for a lot less money than what I would get in Prescott. I am only 25 minutes away from a REAL airport, I have hundreds of areas I can shop at. I have people competing for my business. I have access to all the services I need and want. Not only that, my pay rate doubled!

So, thank you for the advice to leave but it is already done.
By the way, according to the Prescott Courier, they had the LARGEST amount of teachers QUIT/RESIGN in PUSD & HUSD entire history this year alone. Please get your facts straight.

Maybe you could give me some advice. I am working in Yuma and we also have many teachers leave. Many will not stay for the duration of their contract because of lack of support. I will hopefully be joining them soon. I have lost my health insurance, all benefits, and I am taking a pay cut. I want to find a different school district to work at, hopefully back in my home state. I honestly don't think I will stay for the entire 07-08 school year because I can't live without health insurance because I am sick all the time here because they spray the fields and burn them in the summer.

[LBear]

Originally Posted by bluebelt1234

Maybe you could give me some advice. I am working in Yuma and we also have many teachers leave. Many will not stay for the duration of their contract because of lack of support. I will hopefully be joining them soon. I have lost my health insurance, all benefits, and I am taking a pay cut. I want to find a different school district to work at, hopefully back in my home state. I honestly don't think I will stay for the entire 07-08 school year because I can't live without health insurance because I am sick all the time here because they spray the fields and burn them in the summer.

If you are staying in Arizona, try Phoenix, they have a high demand for teachers and the pay is a lot better than the smaller towns in AZ. If you are going out of state, look around here on this forum, many areas have great pay and benefits.

You see, there is always a drawback to these small towns like Prescott. They do not have the $$$$ and resources that larger cities have. Prescott USD was struggling SO BAD in the 80s and 90's that they were going to close down schools. Since the huge real estate market boom, they grew, but they are lacking in pay, teacher support and benefits. If the districts were so great, they would not have 50+ teachers resign from HUSD in this year alone. The highest ever on record for one year.

The link doesn't work anymore, but the newspaper article stated that the support for teacher in PUSD & HUSD was very bad, the pay for a teacher with a masters degree, 10 years experience, was only $31K. You can make more money working at Lowe's.

[dmiller01]

I teach in Phoenix. At the high school level and with a master's degree and ten years of experience, we make $60,000+ (I make much more because I also teach at one of Maricopa's community colleges, which is easy to do here). We also get free health insurance (for a single person) and the pension is great. Pay for teachers really depends on your location, as well as your credentials (science/math/ and special ed. pay the most because you can teach anywhere). Northern AZ has always had horrible pay because there are so many teachers there. It's really an issue of supply and demand. You can make a nice living teaching, but you can't go where there aren't jobs (and that's true in any profession).

[sarahvm_76]

bluebelt1234-
I recently moved from Willcox after teaching there for 5 years. I couldn't have worked at a better school with great support. I left because my benefits were awful and the pay. I would look into New Mexico- their base pay is $40,000- not bad for teaching.

And for the individual who stated "what do teachers expect?" when it comes to low pay... it's that kind of ignorant thinking I could only expect from one NOT in the education field. You obviously have no idea or knowledge about what we educators do...

[BlueStone]

Elementary school teacher pay scales are bad in AZ, double period. I don't care where you work - they are good compared to working as a cashier at Safeway or Basha's, but as regards national standards, they are low. So far, my experience in AZ has been: beautiful views, motor-head beer culture or retiree golf, and "come here and get poor" if you're still working age, that is unless you work for one of the tax-free computer corporations. Then life is rosie is old AZ. Please save your posts about "how much you make here compared to California", etc. Post the salary scale.