AUSTIN, Texas — Kids returning to school may notice quite a few new faces this year. Teacher turnover is happening at an alarming rate across many districts.
Meet Angelica Arredondo Holley and Dell Mann, two Austin women with very similar stories.
"I worked the weekends, and I worked my tail off," Arredondo Holley said.
"Well, sometimes I drive [Uber or Lyft] in the mornings before I go to work and sometimes I drive after school," Mann said.
Both women are full-time teachers with Austin ISD and both are struggling with the same issue: teaching no longer pays the bills.
Take Arredondo Holley, for example. She was trying to buy decorations for her daughter's birthday and soon realized it was just so expensive.
"I couldn't afford it. And so, you know, I've always had this creative side of me being a teacher and I just thought, 'Let's put it to use,'" she said.
The mother of four started up her own party planning business called Royalty Events Party.
"We offer picnics, sleepovers and balloon decorations and centerpieces," Arredondo Holley said.
Like many educators, she believes teachers should be paid like professionals and side hustles should be a choice, not a necessity.
She told KVUE she keeps this in mind when running her business.
"I work with all budgets. I want to be able to provide to the lower-income families as well because I am a lower-income family," Arredondo Holley said.
As for Mann, she has three grown sons and three granddaughters. But her professional plate is more than full.
"I actually have seven jobs and they are Showami, EXP Realty, Uber, Lyft, AISD, Amazon with the typing program and the typequickly.com site," she said.
She said it's not uncommon for Texas teachers to balance more than one job. She noticed the pay discrepancy the moment she moved back to the Lone Star State.
"The pay that I'm making right now is $30,000 less than what I would have been making had I stayed in Indiana," Mann said.
And with the cost of living, she added that having one paycheck just isn't going to cut it.
"If you're in Austin and you're a teacher, chances are you have to have a second income," Mann said.
Both Arredondo Holley and Mann have also noticed a lot of their colleagues leaving the field of education altogether for higher-paying opportunities.
"We're losing a lot of good teachers because of the pay, you know. The pay is just not there," Arredondo Holley said.
But their love for kids isn't waning, so juggling multiple jobs it is – all while hoping for change, appreciation and better pay.
"I still love what I do, and I know that the kids need me there. So my choice is to continue teaching," Mann said.
"We are choosing to be here because this is what we love to do," Arredondo Holley said. "We love working with children and making a difference."
According to the National Education Agency, the national average for starting teacher salary is a little more than $40,000 per year. When adjusted for inflation, teachers are making nearly $4,000 less than what they made a decade ago.