FORT MILL, S.C. — Days before hundreds, possibly thousands of South Carolina public school teachers will “Stand Up and Step Out” in protest, results from a recent survey have revealed troubling responses.
[ READ MORE: SC teachers plan to ‘step out’ of the classroom in protest ]
SC for Ed, a teachers' organization, surveyed 4,000 educators and found that 27% plan to leave their jobs. Many are upset about the state’s failure to give raises and how schools reopened amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the last two weeks, a 28-year-old teacher, a school bus driver and a volunteer football coach have all died from COVID-19.
“To deal with salaries being frozen and funding issues … it’s exhausting, and a lot of teachers are saying, ‘Enough is enough,’” said Fort Mill High School teacher Ali Tracy-McHenry.
Although the state department told Channel 9 in a statement that they’ve spent millions on Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for teachers and other school workers, that was another area of concern revealed in the survey.
Other survey results showed:
- 71% ranked the state’s reopening plan a 1 or 2 on a scale of 1-5
- 75% are teaching in-person and virtual classes at the same time
- 39% responded that they did not have the required PPE
The protest is scheduled to happen on Wednesday.
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