ARKANSAS, USA — No matter what school district you look at, Arkansas educators have said that the pay simply isn't enough anymore.
Kristi Nutt, an art teacher with the Harmony Grove School district said she knows that firsthand.
"So when I am 30 years in at my district, I will only make $46,000 a year," said Nutt.
She mentioned that money is always on the top of everyone's mind, including hers, especially when she could make more across state lines.
"I mean, I could go across to several other states in their rural districts, not even their big-city districts, and make 10 to 15 thousand more than I make here," Nutt said.
Many teachers, including Nutt, all hoped for a raise during August's special session but lawmakers have said that's not likely to happen anymore.
In a statement, Governor Asa Hutchinson, who has pushed for the raise in the past, said, "I proposed a teacher pay increase to the legislative leadership and the preference expressed by the General Assembly is to wait and consider any increase next year."
But some have said they still want the raises to happen – just not during the special session.
"Not that we don't want to give teachers a raise, don't get me wrong, it's not that," Representative Bruce Cozart, chair of the House education committee, said. "It's just we need to do it in the right way."
Cozart also said that teacher pay is on their radar, but they want more time so they can discuss where the money will come from.
"So even if we raise the minimum salary of teachers from the bottom up, you know, they all come up and that costs money every year," he said.
But teachers have said that they are tired of waiting.
"No, we have. All educators have waited long enough," Carol Fleming, president of the Arkansas Education Association said.
She also asked if we can do this during the special session, then why wait?
"There is an opportunity to do it during the special session, why wait until a general session?" she said. "We're already behind our surrounding states, this is an opportunity to make us competitive."
Nutt also agreed. She said she won't leave her district – it's she went to school there and she is happy to call it home.
"Many people say, well you knew the salary when you went in, and that's true," Nutt said. "But we all know the demands of the job have changed greatly in the last five years, the last 10 years, the last 15 years, and we have to be willing to adjust with that."
But she said if something doesn't change soon, there may not be enough teachers to go around.