Discontent galvanizes educators across U.S.

Frustration, shortages spread in other civil jobs

A struggle is percolating across the USA.

Jobs once considered essential in a civil society are suddenly under siege, battling to attract new recruits and retain veteran professionals because of high stress, increased public scrutiny and low pay.

Teachers in recent weeks have become some of the most visible signs of growing discontent.

On Monday, more than 40,000 teachers and thousands of support staff walked off the job to protest a

$6,100 pay raise many say is not enough in Oklahoma, the latest state gripped by educators’ frustration. In Kentucky, thousands of teachers swarmed the state Capitol, riled by last week’s passage of a surprise pension bill.

The protests come on the heels of a nine-day strike in West Virginia and rallies by Arizona teachers at the Capitol in Phoenix.

More than 40 states face teacher shortages, and 100,000 classrooms are filled with people not qualified to teach their assigned subjects, said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the non-profit, non-partisan Learning Policy Institute.

The number of educators who said their mental health was “not good” for seven or more of the past 30 days rose to 58% in 2017, compared with 34% two years earlier, according to an American Federation of Teachers survey.

The school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and talk of arming teachers have raised the stress level for educators. Among the 17 dead was Scott Beigel, a social studies teacher credited with saving student lives. Such actions have led teachers — who may have entered the field simply to share a love of chemistry or history — to grapple with thoughts more like those of police or firefighters: Will I put my life on the line?

“Nobody walks into teaching to martyr themselves,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Though Weingarten said she hasn’t seen anyone avoid teaching because of the fear of shootings, it’s a stressor that makes the job harder. “Teachers have become first responders for everything in a child’s life.”

What’s needed is “to make sure teachers are armed with their voice now more than ever before,” Weingarten said.

20 good candidates out of 200

Law enforcement also is being hit hard. Police departments have reported shortages in the past five years — including major cities such as Washington, Baltimore and Los Angeles.

Chief Jeff Hadley of Chatham County Police Department in Georgia is trying to build his police department from scratch.

After sharing a force for more than 10 years, Georgia’s Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department split back into two departments. Hadley’s challenge has been finding recruits for patrol duty. Starting salary for a new recruit is roughly $35,000.

In some cases, candidates aren’t qualified because of past felony convictions or drug use. Some flunk polygraph tests. Others don’t complete the lengthy background check.

The entire process can take three to six months, which weeds out people who need a job immediately, Hadley said. To get 20 good applicants, it can take 200, he said.

Police departments need to have intentional recruitment processes, said Jim Bueermann, president of the Police Foundation, a Washington, D.C.based non-profit that seeks to support police forces nationwide through its research. Police work can be dangerous, and hours can be long and irregular. Having the authority to use deadly force makes policing unique.

“You just don’t see that in any other job,” Bueermann said.

In a 2017 Pew survey of nearly 8,000 officers, 86% said high-profile fatal incidents between black citizens and police officers have made their jobs more challenging, and 93% said the incidents have increased their concerns about their own safety.

“I don’t think that there aren’t enough people, it’s that there aren’t enough of the right people,” Bueermann said.

Wanted: Public servants

Local governments face similar challenges. About half of mayoral elections from 2000 to 2016 in six states featured only one candidate, according to an analysis by Rice University’s Center for Local Elections in American Politics.

Robert Congdon wanted to retire after 22 years in office, but no one stepped up. The first selectman of Preston, Conn., announced two years before the November 2017 election that he’d be stepping down.

Congdon, 69, is now in his 23rd year as the small rural town’s chief executive, a role he compares to running a small business.

Preston is governed by a board of selectmen, which sets the town’s policy agenda, and a town meeting, which acts as a legislative body. When Congdon started this role, dozens would attend each meeting. Now, maybe 20 people show up each year, he said.

“We’re not a better place because of it,” he said.

On top of dealing with angry citizens, many local elected roles receive little to no pay, especially in small towns, Rice University political science professor Melissa Marschall said.

When she studied mayoral elections in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota and Virginia, more than 70% of contests in small towns were unopposed.

“It’s a kind of volunteerism that takes a lot of time and energy,” Marschall said. “You don’t hear from constituents when they’re happy.”