What can be done to fight Kentucky's teacher shortage.

The Kentucky Association of School Administrators has 17 ideas.

There are described in a new report released through its coalition to Sustain the Education Profession that begins tonight's look at education matters.

Teaching is more difficult today than it has ever been.

It is more expensive to become a teacher than it's ever been, and there are simply not enough aspiring teachers to adequately take care of our children today and our children tomorrow.

So the coalition to Sustain the Education Profession has been something that's been together for about a year, a little longer.

Lots of different professionals, people in our communities, different people at different levels working together to figure out why teachers are leaving and why there are not enough teachers or people going into the profession to sustain it.

As a teacher of 24 years, I've have seen lots of changes over the years.

But the thing that's really bothering us now and bothering me the most is that we're not we're not getting educators.

We're not.

Children are not growing up wanting to be teachers.

And those that are there are just tired and they're leaving at astronomical rates.

And it's really scary for us because, you know, I have children that are still in the school system and I hope to have grandchildren someday and I want them to have the best teachers possible.

So I never tell people they shouldn't go into education.

But right now, it's very difficult to promote that when there's so much going on around it that's so negative in the in the news and, you know, the press and all those things, We're just really wanting teachers or people to realize that being a teacher is a rewarding profession and we want to be there, but we want to be paid and taken care of and value for what we do.

And looking at salaries across the state, we found most of our teachers are dangerously close to financial collapse.

Many work two or more jobs to make ends meet.

Some still live at home with their parents simply because they do not make enough money each month to pay for a home or qualify even for a home loan.

This is why you have seen and will continue to see that we are focused on establishing a minimum starting teacher salary of $45,000 for Kentucky teachers.

Education is not political.

It is not red or blue.

It is not Democrat or Republican.

It is a Kentucky issue.

Full stop.

Kentucky ranks 44th in the nation in starting teacher pay over seven years, inflation adjusted pay has declined by 14.7%.

That is a decrease of nearly $10,000 a year.

Our profession does impact all other professions.

It's on the front end.

It's the front end driver of economic development.

It surely has the ability to change people's minds and the way they think and use the term silver bullet.

There is a silver bullet to education.

There is a silver bullet to economic development.

It and many of the woes in our great nation and the Commonwealth.

And that's teachers.

Other recommendations in the report include fully funding A newly proposed can touch Kentucky New Educator training plan, creating a Kentucky Educator Stabilization Fund with financial incentives for working in low performing schools and encouraging classroom based leadership.

You can read the full report online at KSA DOT org.