INDIANAPOLIS — There is no secret that this school year has presented a challenge for school districts in Indiana to staff their classrooms.
Indiana State Teachers Association President Keith Gambill pointed out that not just teachers are in short supply, but also support staff, custodial staff, and bus drivers.
"When there are not enough bus drivers, they have to change the schedule in order to have those drivers run extra routes, and that creates an impact for all the other employees," Gambill said.
Gambill listed a few reasons why schools are experiencing a shortage of teachers. For one, more teachers decided to retire a few years early during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Additionally, Gambill said the state did not address concerns when the ISTA noticed fewer high school students going to college to study education.
"You couple that with the lack of respect that we get from, especially, our lawmakers, and the rhetoric around the work that we do," said Gambill, "along with just not being able to keep up with appropriate pay for any of our job categories."
RELATED: Former Indiana teacher reflects on decision to walk away as state struggles to fill positions
Indiana has initiated recent pay increases, according to Gambill, but the state was already behind neighboring states when it made its last investment two years ago.
Leaders contend Indiana is still losing ground as Hoosiers kick off the 2022-2023 school year.
"As Indiana's salaries increased, so too did the salaries in our region, and that just creates an additional layer of issues," Gambill said.
On top of the pay concerns, inflation is also hitting the pockets of teachers.
"We are not immune to those rising costs," Gambill said.
With the rising costs of school supplies, teachers are also spending more of their own money to stock their rooms.
"I think most Hoosiers would be shocked if they were to go into a classroom, and then have the teacher remove everything that they have personally purchased," Gambill said. "I think they would be shocked to see how much teachers are bringing into the classroom that is not supplied by the school district."
With increased demand and uneven pay, many Indiana teachers have called it quits — that includes a young teacher who used to work in Blackford County.
She asked to remain anonymous when she told 13News that she was inspired to be a teacher because of her own teachers.
She said she connected with middle schoolers the best during her time as a teacher.
"I really liked the middle schoolers because I feel like you got more depth in your conversations," she said, who began the career in 2019. "At first, it was definitely very exciting for me. I taught three-quarters of a school year 'normal.'"
Even before the start of the pandemic, however, she felt immense pressure to perform, including working long hours outside of the normal work day.
"For me, I took a lot of that home," she said. "I was doing a lot of work at home. You could work 24 hours a day on this if you wanted to. The pay that you're getting is not worth that."
She eventually decided she needed to pursue a different role in the schools before ultimately leaving in 2022 after the birth of her son.
"I don't want to have to keep taking that home when I have kids at home," she said. "I want to be able to spend my evenings with them."
"One troubling factor that we have seen over the past few years is the number of folks who chose to just resign," Gambill said.
Gambill added that resignations don't always happen at the end of a term. They can occur weeks before the start of the new school year.
How you can help
There are a few steps Hoosiers can take to help support Indiana educators, according to Gambill.
First, be willing to volunteer at your school to help take some of the pressure off staff members.
Second, if you can, sign up to be a substitute teacher. Even one day per week can make a big difference.
Lastly, Gambill encourages all Hoosiers to lift up the teaching profession to inspire more young people to enter the field.
"By doing so, we will be able to capture more of our students who are in high school and encourage them to go into education and foster them through the university system so that they stay in Indiana, and they stay in education," Gambill said.