Another teacher bids Warren County farewell
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“I wish I could stay, I really do. I’m a product of Warren County schools and I really wanted to give back to it. I think the school system is great and I think Bobby Ray is the best school in the county, but loyalty only goes so far,” Bowdoin said.
A teacher with nine years experience, all in the local school system, Bowdoin has signed a pre-contract stating her intent to teach next school year with the school system in Monroe, Ga., which is just east of Atlanta.
She said she first became interested in teaching in Georgia when a former colleague of hers at Morrison Elementary, Pam Alley, told her of the state’s offer of a free master’s degree to all state teachers. Intrigued, she attended a couple of Teach Georgia job fairs, where she said she was heavily recruited by several school systems, one of which offered her a job on the spot.
Cementing her acceptance of the job was the offer of a healthy salary increase and free insurance. She explained that after teaching here nine years, she is only making around $31,000, which includes her pay for extended contract work. In Monroe, she said, she will start off making $40,500 a year — a jump of almost $10,000.
Additionally, she will see more money in her paycheck due to the fact she will no longer have to pay for her insurance, as next year she will receive free health, dental and vision insurance.
In Warren County, Bowdoin says, she has to pay $178 a month for only single coverage health insurance.
“It’s a whole different atmosphere in Georgia — teachers are respected there,” she said. “I feel like a traitor on one level, but if I stay I become a lower class citizen.”
Asked if there is anything that could make her stay in Warren County, Bowdoin replied that just having her insurance paid by the county, as it is in many other Tennessee counties, would certainly help.
“It would make a big difference, but it’s not going to happen because education’s not a priority here,” she said. “Again, I wish I could stay, but it goes back to the legislature and the people in this state who don’t want to pay taxes to support education.”
As a teacher in Georgia, Bowdoin says she will:
• Earn almost $10,000 more a year
• Receive free health, dental and vision insurance
• Have her master’s degree paid for