Jumping ship: Local teachers head to Georgia
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His wife Krysta, who will graduate this month with an education degree from Tennessee Tech, has given up hope of finding a teaching position any-where in Tennessee.
As a result, the two have joined an increasing number of Tennessee teachers who are leaving our economically troubled state behind and seeking greener pastures — and security — elsewhere. In the Barnes’ case, the greener pastures are in Whitfield County, Ga., about a 30-minute drive south of Chattanooga.
“When I see a sinking ship, I’m jumping off it,” said Chris. “There’s just not a lot of opportunity for teachers in Tennessee. I like where I am and don’t want to leave, but when you start comparing this state with others, there’s really no comparison.”
For starters, the Warren County resident said, he will receive almost $10,000 more a year than what he’s making this year in neighboring DeKalb County. He added even if he worked for 18 years in the DeKalb County system, he would still make about $4,000 less than what he’ll start out earning next year. Krysta, who will be a first-year teacher, will be making $9,000 more than her counterparts in DeKalb and Warren counties.
What’s more, the couple said, Georgia teachers are guaranteed a 4 percent raise every year.
Also a big drawing point are additional benefits which include free health, dental and life insurance. The state of Georgia also matches every dollar a teacher contributes to his or her retirement fund.
And as residents of Georgia, the couple will be able to take advantage of the state’s lottery-funded Hope Scholarship. In addition to providing students with a “B” average in high school a full scholarship to state universities, this scholarship also pays for 90 percent of a teacher’s higher education tuition.
“It would be senseless not to pursue this opportunity,” said Chris, who indicated he applied for a job in Warren County last year but the focus of his interview was on “who he knew” not his qualifications.
Krysta said she is still “in amazement” of what has been offered to them.
“I applied at five schools and received six job offers,” she said. “Here in Tennessee you have to beg just to get one position.”
She added she has even been able to pick the grade level she wants to teach, something unheard of here.
The couple isn’t alone in discovering just how much more other states have to offer teachers. In the Whitfield County alone, Krysta said, over 1,000 teachers, most of them from Tennessee, have already applied for positions. And not all of those looking outside the state are new, non-tenured teachers.
“Even if the state does find a way to fund the budget, we’ll still be better off than teachers here,” she said. “All of the experienced teachers we’ve talked to here tell us to go, go, go.”