As nationwide teacher shortage worsens, some say inadequate pay is to blame

CHICAGO — With the steep shortage of teachers across the U.S. leaving school districts scrambling to staff their classrooms during the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, officials at the nation’s largest teachers union said this week that insufficient pay is fueling the growing crisis.

A recent release of the National Education Association’s data on educator pay and school funding coincided with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signing into law a slate of measures this week intended to address the teacher shortage in Illinois, including simplifying the licensing process, lowering licensing fees and easing restrictions for substitute teachers.

Despite the stepped-up statewide efforts, the NEA report unveiled new data union officials deemed “alarming,” including findings that during the 2020-21 school year, first-year teachers earned an average of $41,770, which, when adjusted