Texas high school principal says demands on teachers has reached 'breaking point'

SAN ANGELO — In a moment normally reserved for applause and awards, school administrators got real during a Texas school board meeting, when a high school principal brought teachers' concerns to light.

Bill Waters, principal for Central High School in San Angelo, addressed the board late Monday, April 18, 2022. In his 22-minute speech that has since gone viral on social media, Waters took the podium to address several concerns plaguing teachers across SAISD and the nation.

Instead of speaking about "points of pride," he discussed the need for better pay, compensation, community support, mental health for students and staff, and time.

"As I thought about my presentation tonight, I was given direction to focus on points of pride," Waters said in the video. "Yet, it was not what I really thought should be shared, and I continued to think about doing something else. ... I am taking some liberties with my presentation tonight."

Related: Central High School principal responds to social media bullying incidents

Waters, an SAISD employee since his teaching career began 32 years ago, previously split his career into two periods - teaching and administration. Since COVID-19, that has changed.

"Until recently, (I) viewed my career as two phases ... but that has changed," he said. "I now view my career as pre-COVID and post-COVID. I believe that school will never be like it was prior to March of 2020. It has changed and we have to make changes with it. How much longer can we operate at a high level with a pre-COVID mindset?"

His plea to the board has been played over 55,000 times on YouTube and been shared by social media personality and Las Vegas teacher Sofia Bella on TikTok and Instagram, who has more than 3.5 million followers. The video has also made its way through teacher groups across Texas.

Teachers struggle to meet demands, leading to further issues

Waters mentioned seeing an increase in mischievous behavior throughout the pandemic, a decrease in grade-level maturity and an increase in students struggling with mental health. Other concerns included higher failure rates and teacher retention.

"In a recent-ran survey, schools and school districts stated that addressing mental health needs of both students and staff ranked higher than student engagement, student attendance and declining enrollment," he said.

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One topic Waters brought up was time. Often, educators are asked to stay late, drive buses, and generally do more than what they were contracted for. Those summer months can also be filled with required trainings, seminars, certification tests, and teaching summer school.

"...The demands on the teachers have drastically increased," Waters said. "We cannot continue to ask that it needs to be done outside the work day. The day-to-day demands on teachers to meet, prepare, design, engage, contact and serve has reached a breaking point. Teachers are struggling to get things accomplished at all levels, yet, we continue to expect it."

With these increased demands, teachers are struggling to keep up, Waters says.

"I have spent many hours this year, much more than ever before, talking to my staff about their personal and job-related issues, and a struggle to find the balance," Waters said. "For the first time in my career, I had teachers quit in the middle of a year because they thought they had a better opportunity elsewhere that they felt would be better for their health and well-being."

How can schools improve for teachers?

During his speech, Waters offered solutions to his concerns: time, pay and compensation, mental health support for both staff and students, and community connection.

For time, he suggested more staff-only days, early release days or moving to a four-day school week. While it would require changes, he believes the "benefits outweigh any negatives."

Addressing pay, Waters urged the district to be competitive, give raises and include compensation for sticking with SAISD. Recently, Waters has lost several teachers to competing districts, partially due to pay, he said.

"In addition, we have to pay staff for the extra," he said. "We need to recognize that they're giving of their time, and create additional stipends to do this."

More: Texas teachers say they’re pushed to the brink by law requiring unpaid training

Part of this solution includes helping staff with childcare by creating options, which could include building or utilizing a location for their children.

As for mental health for students, Waters suggested looking at what works for other schools, along with providing awareness information and more on-site support.

"Our counselors already have a full load, and the increased needs of our kids cannot be added to our counselors," he said.

Teachers' health benefits should include some visits with an outside counselor and discounts for mental health help, he said.

Community support was also a point in his speech. While there are Teacher Appreciation Days or teacher discounts before school begins, Waters believes there should be appreciation all year.

"We do things for new staff at the beginning of the year, but what about all year?" he asked. "Discounts at ... businesses, hosting staff and district appreciation events periodically throughout the year ... and letting schools and staff know how they're appreciated by asking local businesses to encourage their employees to reach out and thank a teacher. We need the positive majority that support schools to stand up and be heard."

School board's response: We are working on it

Max Parker, board president and member for District 5, addressed Waters' statement during the meeting.

"I don't disagree with anything you said," Parker said. "We have been concerned about many of the things you've been saying. We, as a board, are looking at many of the things that you're discussing. I'm very concerned about our students, but I'm very concerned about our teachers.

Parker said teachers' salaries don't reflect their importance.

"As I've said many times, our country is very much out of whack when somebody like me, who's an attorney, makes much more than somebody who's a teacher, because in the big scheme of things, a teacher is much more important to the future of our country than an attorney is," Parker said.

"Some of these things have got to change, and we've got to have more people recognizing our teachers, because without our teachers, our future's going to go right down the drain, because our kids are not going to be able to get the education that they deserve."

He also addressed that universities and colleges are not getting as many students wanting to become teachers.

"Even if we meet everything you're wanting here, it's not going to be enough in my opinion," Parker said. "What are we going to do when there's not enough teachers? And there's not going to be enough nationwide for the foreseeable future."

In response, Waters stated the district has to be competitive. Parker stated, "We're competing against Walmart. ... We've got a lot of things we're competing against at this point."

Ami Mizell-Flint, board trustee for single member District 4, made a post regarding the speech Thursday via Facebook. In her post, she recognized Waters' message, which had started circulating social media.

"I agree with all that he said, and promise that we are (and have been) working on some opportunities for our district to do more for our teachers. While we have increased starting teacher salaries $6,000 in the past two years, had a stipend for returning teachers this year, and are offering a stipend for teachers who complete this school year, I know it is about more than "just the money.""

More: Some Texas educators are losing their licenses for quitting during the school year

In the same post, she urged the community to support teachers and staff.

"...Local businesses can help support our teachers, too!" Mizell-Flint stated. "Maybe offer a small discount, or a free beverage, or some other benefit, in the name of a "Thank a Teacher" campaign. ... We have so many wonderful supporters of our schools; it would be so nice for teachers (and bus drivers, custodians, school secretaries, nurses and librarians) to know they are loved with small, random thank yous throughout our community."

In Waters' speech, he stated he believed there's "a ton of support" in the San Angelo community.

"Unfortunately, and quite often, we only hear the negative," he said. "It is sad that a teacher has to keep a positive folder … to remind them that there are those out there that think they do a great job. They do this because when the negative comes these days, it can be more harsh and disrespectful than ever before. We need to create connections in our community to celebrate our schools and our school district and our employees to create a larger sense of appreciation."

How much does San Angelo ISD pay teachers?

According to SAISD's financial transparency page, the average teaching salary for 2021 was $50,184, nearly $4,000 more than in 2017. While the average pay has increased, the average years of experience has gone down from 10.4 in 2017 to 7.7 in 2021.

Comparing the average pay to nearby cities:

Abilene ISD, for new teachers, offers $49,000 for the 2021-2022 school year. Teachers and librarians who stay receive $1,650.

Midland ISD starts at $57,500 for 2022. This is up $1,000 from 2021.

Ector County ISD, for 2020-2021, offers $54,250 for new teachers.

The average Texas public school teacher makes $59,811 as of March 29, 2022, according to salary.com. The typical range is between $52,211 and $69,061, varying by city, experience, and other skills, according to salary.com.

The Texas Educators Association's minimum salary schedule for 2021-2022 listed inexperienced teachers start at $33,660, or $3,366 per month in a 10-month contract. The 10-month salary increases about $1,000 per year of experience.

"I began to have conversations with prospective teachers and staff over the last week or so," Waters said. "Some, and I anticipate more, have asked questions regarding our school calendar, district pay raises and incentive pay."

While Waters urged the school board to improve, he added that educators will continue to do what they can, for as long as they can.

"We will continue to break our backs to help kids. We'll spend our own money to help them achieve or continue to devote time and effort to make it happen, because we want our kids to excel and shine in what we believe are great schools. But should we continue to do this? And will our staff continue to do this? There is no other profession that has these expectations, without the support in the form of time, benefits and compensation."

The full video of the San Angelo ISD School Board Meeting from April 18, 2022, can be seen online on YouTube. Waters' speech begins at the 2:11:21 mark.

Alana Edgin is a journalist covering Crime and Courts in West Texas. Send her a news tip at aedgin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Texas principal says demands on teachers has reached breaking point