AUSTIN, Texas — As hundreds of new Austin ISD teachers, librarians and counselors network for the upcoming school year, Education Austin President Ken Zarifis and other AISD educators are thinking about the future of their profession.
"People need to be compensated better," Zarifis said. "People need to be make sure we were expecting people at the workplace that they're valued as an employee and that they feel that through the year."
According to a new survey conducted by the Texas State Teachers Association, almost two-thirds of teachers across the state said they have seriously considered leaving the profession.
Educators like Bowie High School teacher Jake Morgan spoke out about a rising workload but no rising paycheck.
"It's a job that is at best very, very hard to do and bordering on impossible," Morgan said.
"This underfunding has impacted us all in different ways. The working conditions have been unsustainable," Megan Vasquez, a teacher at Becker Elementary School, said.
To help teachers get better compensation, Austin ISD leadership and Education Austin have agreed on a draft employee compensation plan for the school year that includes market adjustments and a 25 cent-per-hour increase for some employees.
However, that would only go into effect if the board calls for it and voters approve it in a tax rate election (VATRE).
"Even with a VATRE, there is a deficit that still has to be considered," AISD Superintendent Matias Segura previously said in a board meeting.
The election would call for adding 9 cents to the current property tax value for residents, meaning property owners would expect their tax burden to be around 95 cents per $100 of property value.
"You know, it's not going to be a solution, a permanent solution for everything. But it is essential. If we want to keep the programs that we have now, it has to happen," Morgan said.
It is a rallying cry for help to the community, as pressure builds and another school year approaches.
"It is a heavy, heavy weight that gets heavier every year," Morgan said.
The deadline for the board to call for a tax rate election is Monday, Aug. 19. The district will hold an information session on Thursday at 6 p.m. at its central office.