MD Teachers Struggle Financially As School Starts: Poll

MARYLAND — As the new school year began Monday in many Maryland counties, a poll released showed teacher are struggling financially. The statewide teachers union, the Maryland State Education Association, released survey results that offer a glimpse into the situation.

About 44 percent of Maryland teachers have held at least one additional job in the past year, the poll said. That's comparable to the percentage of educators seeking extra work in the last surveys from 2018 and 2019. Teachers most likely to work a second job include those under 30 years old (61 percent), Black educators (50 percent) and Hispanic educators (52 percent).

Roughly 52 percent of teachers reported taking on personal debt. That's an increase from 34 percent in 2018 and 46 percent in 2019.

Nine out of 10 educators said they pay out of pocket for classroom supplies. That is consistent with the survey results from previous years.

“For our students to get the best from our educators, educators must be able to support themselves in the profession they’ve chosen,” said MSEA President Cheryl Bost in a news release. “At best, too often educators are struggling to make ends meet while doing their best for students. At worst, the financial strain drives educators out of the profession and keeps others from joining.

"We need to build a more supportive pipeline for aspiring educators and do more to retain the high quality educators we have through continued investments in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, strong local contracts, and ensuring that educator voices are at the table,” she said.

The state teachers union hired GBAO, a pollster based in the District of Columbia, to conduct the survey.

The survey had 2,896 participants who are members of the state teachers union. The survey was conducted online from July 9 through July 16.

The margin of error was +/- 1.8 percentage points. That means there is a 95% chance that the real-world values for each question lie within 1.8 percentage points in either direction of the results listed.

The last time teachers were surveyed on these same prompts was in 2018 and 2019.

The full results are posted here.

“For our students to get the best from our educators, educators must be able to support themselves in the profession they’ve chosen,” Bost said. “We need to build a more supportive pipeline for aspiring educators and do more to retain the high quality educators we have through continued investments in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, strong local contracts, and ensuring that educator voices are at the table.”