LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — If you've driven around town recently, then you've most likely seen the the billboards from the Dallas Independent School District.
The signs have been advertising for teachers from Central Arkansas to join their school district.
"I actually saw that same sign that you saw, and I was somewhat surprised at first," said Matt Donaghy, Superintendent of the Bauxite School District.
Donaghy also said that he doesn't blame the Dallas school district for doing what they have – but he just wishes there was more he could do.
"Of course, the financial thing with staffing is and has been a big deal for a couple of years," he said. "But it's even worse now."
Bauxite School District, starts out their new teachers at around $40,000 a year but that's not the case in other districts.
Travis Ragland with the Arkansas State Teachers Association, said that the average starting pay for teachers statewide is $36,000.
"That places us lower than our surrounding states as far as beginning salary," Ragland said.
Which means that Arkansas has the sixth lowest average teacher salary in the entire country. That, combined with the pandemic, has left many educators wanting more.
Ragland also mentioned that, "it has the potential to create somewhat of a brain drain in Arkansas, and will force those teachers to look outside the state, if not other professions."
Being able to keep teachers in the state has been a top priority.
"We know that other states, especially neighboring states, are trying to get their hands on these excellent Arkansas teachers," Venus Torrence, who works with the Arkansas Department of Education on recruitment and retention, said. "I don't blame them!"
Torrence has been no stranger to the challenges keeping educators can bring, and it starts with pay.
Governor Hutchinson has proposed raising teacher salaries, but he said that won't be able to happen overnight.
Back at Bauxite, Donaghy knows that things will have to change, both in his district and others. The main issue has been that no one knows how long it could be – before more appealing offers begin to come in.
"So to me it's more of a calling, or missionary work at this point to be working in schools," Donaghy said. "When other fields are paying so much more these days."
Torrence said there's multiple programs and academies that the Arkansas Department of Education has been working on to help keep homegrown educator talent in Arkansas.