The following is the opinion and analysis of the writers:
These are our stories – the stories of three public school teachers in Tucson. They are the stories of how our love for our students crashes headlong into the painful realities of being overworked and underpaid. They are the stories of the dignity we are denied when we cannot afford health care for our families.
Only 27% of Arizona classrooms are staffed by a teacher who meets standard requirements. In almost every school in the state, there are classrooms without a teacher, classes taught by long-term substitutes or by a virtual teacher, and classes combined into one massive classroom. As teachers, we are asked to take on extra classes. We step up because we know that students need us, but we are exhausted. It is disgraceful and harmful.
On top of it, we are unable to adequately care for our own families. Not only are we overworked and stretched thin in the classroom, but we cannot afford health care for our own children and families. It is shameful and embarrassing.
People are also reading…
My name is Cindy Gambone. I teach physics at Sunnyside High School because teaching is my calling. My take-home pay is $2,600/month. My options for health insurance are $836 per month for a reasonable deductible or $302 per month for a $6,000 deductible. Despite taking on an additional part-time job in the evenings and weekends, health care remains unattainable.
Recently, my son accidentally cut his thumb with a kitchen knife. I knew he would need stitches, but without insurance, my son stayed in bed with his thumb wrapped tightly and elevated for three days until I found a sliding-scale clinic. I am ashamed that I put my son at risk, but I simply couldn’t afford insurance. Even though this profession brings me joy, I know I will have to pursue another occupation soon.
My name is Lydia Mendoza. I am one of only 133 TUSD employees (2%) who choose to cover their children with the health insurance plan that offers copays for primary care visits. The family care plan costs me $681 per month, leaving me with only $2,374 in take-home pay. I am lucky that my rent is only $797 per month, because otherwise I couldn’t make it all work. I sign up for every extra teaching duty, such as summer school or after-school tutoring, to make ends meet. Just like Cindy’s situation, when I was starting teaching 25 years ago, I couldn’t afford the family health plan. I was a single mom and I prayed every day that my kids didn’t get sick.
My name is Natalie Mast. My wife and I both work at TUSD and both our kids got really sick this year. Our 3-year-old was diagnosed with sudden onset Type I diabetes and our 6-year-old is being treated for Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. We chose the mid-level deductible plan because we couldn’t afford the option that Lydia pays for. So, along with 278 other TUSD families (4%), we pay a lot of money for a health care plan that we thought would protect our family. But the stack of medical bills on our counter says otherwise. This past year, we paid nearly $10,000 in medical bills on top of the $3,750 in insurance premiums.
We have a teacher shortage because thousands of teachers are leaving the profession each year. Teachers are leaving because we are asked to put aside the needs of our own families to stay in this job.
We are calling on decision-makers at all levels to address the poor quality and sky-high costs of our health care. Something must change. Arizona Education Association’s Educators’ Budget calls on the state to invest $600 million in health care for teachers and school staff. We need this investment. Our families, our schools and our students deserve better.
Cindy Gambone is a physics teacher at Sunnyside High School. Natalie Mast is an occupational therapist at TUSD. Lydia Mendoza is a third-grade teacher at Manzo Elementary School in TUSD. Margaret Cheney is the president of the Tucson Education Association. Tori Schroeder is president of the Sunnyside Education Association. Raina York is the president of the Marana Education Association.