Patapsco High teacher Jennifer Skahill's letter in the Dundalk Eagle

I am a young teacher trying to attend (and pay for) graduate classes in order to complete my master’s degree, attempting to purchase a home and struggling to make ends meet. This is without next year’s undoubted raise in the cost of gas, health insurance and regular day-to-day items.

…I speak to my family in New York, which has an enormously higher salary (and pension percentage) for teachers. I speak to college friends who teach in other counties in Maryland with far greater step increases and college tuition reimbursements, and who still are receiving cost-of-living adjustments for next year well above 2 percent.

In having these conversations, it becomes clear why so many teachers leave Baltimore County for other employment opportunities every year. It becomes obvious why, well into the school year, many schools struggle to fill teaching vacancies (surprising since the county is rumored to be excessing many teachers at the end of this year).

Read the full text of Jennifer's letter in the Dundalk Eagle.