To the Members of the Jefferson County School Board,
It is 11:46 PM and I am just getting home from my part time job. And sure, it’s summer – except this is the normal time I get home multiple nights a week, year round. I urge you to reconsider the budget you have set, because I am exhausted. I’m exhausted that I can never fully catch up during the school year. I’m exhausted by the anxiety I experience both from financial strains, but also from feeling like an inadequate educator.
My students invite me to their performances, and I miss them all because no matter how hard I budget, I cannot afford to take a day off at my second job. I work 10-12 days straight during conferences due to the nights they are held because any time I have to take off my regularly scheduled nights, I will have to make them up the nights I do not typically work. I regularly have to opt out of field trips and functions for clubs because I can’t make it to my second job on time and attend events alike. I’m exhausted at the thought of having to be both an almost full time server and educator in order to be the one thing I have always wanted to be – an educator.
I know that I’m not alone in this boat. I know many of my colleagues are stretched thin with their time and finances. To be honest, it seems almost irresponsible for any of us to stay in Jeffco when other districts are willing to pay us more. I’m only a fifth year teacher, and I would like to continue to work in the district that my sister, my brother, and myself all grew up in. But at this point, I don’t see working in Jeffco as a long term option for me.
Doesn’t it upset you, even a little, knowing that there is a teacher that would be relieved to work their second job only a couple nights a week instead of five?
Thanks for your time and attention to this matter.
Emily Hall