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Texas Teachers Face Financial Strain

On Friday, published a story about teacher pay and the challenges educators face in Texas. According to the piece, the average Texas teacher makes about $49,000 a year, which is about $8,000 below the national average. During the 2010-2011 school year, teacher pay in the state ranked 30th in the country, and two years later, it dropped to 35th in the nation.

Other issues, the story points out:

  • Teachers are spending more and more of their own paycheck on school supplies, and some have had to get second jobs.

  • There’s a shortage of certified bilingual teachers.

  • Texas has dropped from 36th to 47th in per-student spending.

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Stella M. Chávez is an investigative reporter for The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration between NPR and member stations around the state. She's based at in Dallas and is currently reporting on how state government is working with federal agencies on immigration enforcement and border security.