Arizona schools are struggling to keep teachers. Low pay, high stress, and a lack of respect are pushing educators out, leaving classrooms understaffed and students underserved.
The Stats:
As of January 2025, nearly 30% of teaching positions were vacant or underfilled. Almost half of classrooms are staffed by educators without full certification. Arizona ranks 44th in teacher pay, and teacher prep program enrollment has dropped more than 50% since 2010.
The Solution:
State leaders recommend higher salaries, paid leave, student loan forgiveness, and lower insurance costs. Mentorship programs and public awareness campaigns are underway, but educators say real change starts by giving teachers a voice.As classrooms across Arizona grow emptier—not of students, but of educators—the state finds itself at a critical crossroads. Nearly 30% of teacher positions statewide remained vacant weeks into the 2024–25 school year, according to a January 2025 survey by the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association (ASPAA). The report, based on responses from 159 public school districts and charter schools, also found that 47% of teacher positions were filled by individuals not meeting standard certification requirements.
Arizona educators are leaving the profession in alarming numbers, and those who remain say the job is no longer sustainable.
“Teacher pay is a factor. Salaries have lagged behind inflation, and teachers struggle to pay their bills,” said Anne Tinkleberg, a longtime educator in the Tempe Elementary School District. “The job is already stressful and exhausting, but when you add on the disrespect from students, it makes finding a job in another profession more attractive.”
Tinkleberg’s sentiment reflects concerns raised in a 2024 Maricopa County School Superintendent's Office survey of nearly 4,000 teachers across 57 districts. Respondents cited low pay, lack of respect, and excessive demands as the top reasons they were considering leaving the classroom.
A system at its limit
Cindi Morton, a seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher at Herrera Elementary School in the Phoenix Elementary School District, knows the pressures firsthand.
“It would be amazing if educators were treated like professionals. I have a B.S. and an M.S. People think because they were students a long time ago in a school far, far away that they could do my job better than I could. It’s heartbreaking,” Morton said.
Herrera Elementary is a Title I school where chronic absenteeism exceeds 40%, according to state-reported data. The school is under-resourced, and Morton said her early career earnings were unsustainable.
“I was making about $800 every two weeks after taxes, retirement, and benefits for my kids,” she said. “It was not doable.”
Morton said she has left the profession twice — once during the 2008 recession and again during the COVID-19 pandemic — both times due to burnout and financial strain.
The kids are my favorite part,” she added. “But the amount of is appalling.”
What’s being done — and what still needs to be
Some districts have begun raising salaries. In the Maricopa Unified School District, the average teacher salary reached $73,000 in fiscal year 2025 — a 5% increase over the previous year, according to district financial reports. But many teachers argue that modest raises failed to keep pace with inflation and rising housing costs, particularly in metro areas.
Student loan forgiveness for teachers in high-need areas.
The Arizona Department of Education has launched a Recruitment & Retention Repository, offering data dashboards, educator surveys, and planning tools for school leaders.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Education Association is piloting mentorship and peer-support programs, with a focus on retaining teachers of color. The Arizona Media Association’s Public Education Program is also running a statewide advertising campaign to raise awareness, though its impact remains under evaluation.
Still, for educators like Morton, the solution starts with giving teachers a voice.
“In a perfect world, the decision-makers would listen to the teachers. We are the ones in the trenches. We know what curriculum works, we know what our kids need, and we know what we are missing as far as support,” she said. “Listen to us!”
The future of public education in Arizona
Arizona’s teacher shortage is more than a staffing issue — it’s a growing threat to public education. Each unfilled position, early retirement, or underqualified hire chips away at the foundation of equitable learning.
“The system is broken. We all know this,” Morton said. “But we also know a world without public education is tragic. Every kid deserves the opportunity to learn in a safe, clean building surrounded by people who love them.”
Editor’s note:A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
By 
