Yuma County teachers work extra jobs to make ends meet

From housekeeping to waitressing, teachers in Arizona are working long hours outside of the classroom to make ends meet.

Most teachers feel optimistic following Thursday’s passing of the state budget but hope there aren’t any setbacks.

Zach Fishel spends a lot of energy to keep his seventh graders engaged and learning. What students don’t know until now is that he works another job to make ends meet.

“I probably put in 70 hours a week. 75 hours a week if I can manage it,” said Zach Fishel an English teacher.

He is an online English-language learner teacher to kids who live in China because he said a master’s degree and six years’ experience barely provides a living wage in Arizona.

“But having that once a month check come you know, it really does add a lot of emphasis on how you spend your money and save. Because it’s almost a survivalist game,” said Fishel.

To provide a better picture, here are some examples. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food service managers ($55,010); retail supervisors ($40,870); casino managers ($77,770); post office clerks ($53,010); and gas station operators ($57,510) in Arizona have higher average salaries than teachers. All of these jobs do not require a college degree.

A couple classroom doors down from Fishel is Brittany Ludwin , a seventh-grade math teacher who also works as a waitress and a bartender after school.

On average she is working about sixty hours a week.

“Some days are better than others you know. I can be feeling really tired one day and not feel like I’m giving them or teaching them everything they need for the day. Or just for the year simply,” said Brittany Ludwin , a seventh-grade math teacher.

On Thursday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed the budget as soon as it landed on his desk.

“I’m excited to sign House Bill 2663 here, and this is the bill, among other bills in the budget that is going to codify the 20 percent teacher pay raise by 2020. This is the first step in this bill, $100 million for support staff, and additional things inside our K-12 education system,” said Ducey.

We have seen the fight for higher salaries in the past six days. Earnings for Arizona elementary school teachers are nearly the countries’ lowest when you factor in the cost of living.

That’s about 13,000 dollars less than the national average.

Meanwhile, the pay for secondary school teachers is just $5,000 more. But still falls more than $10,000 short of the national average

With this new budget the average Yuma County teacher currently making $35,000, would be making about $42,000 by 2020.

$35,000 x 0.20 = $7,000

$35,000 + $7,000 = $42,000

As for Mr. Fishel, he recognizes that his job is powerful and only hopes others see that too.

“That’s why I am a teacher. My job is very important. That’s why I don’t complain about being exhausted or getting up at four or staying until seven some nights, whatever. I do it because I believe in it. It goes back to the first question you ask me. But I want to see that I am not the only one that believes in the future of our kids.”

Yuma County has also been involved in trying to help teachers by creating a program called “Summer Works in Yuma,” where they help them get temporary jobs to supplement their income during summer vacation.