Approximately 4.3% of education jobs in Texas have been lost due to the pandemic, according to a Zippia study, but some experts are skeptical.
The Bluebonnet State ranked 37th out of 50 states experiencing job losses in education, according to career expert Zippia’s study. The state with the highest number of education job losses was Delaware at 11.84%, while Arizona ranked last at 0.35%.
“It could be a multiple of reasons,” said Tera Collum, executive director of the Travis Institute of Educational Policy. “Many teachers chose this time to change jobs, retire or just get out of education. I do not think that a large number of teachers were fired due to COVID.”
While Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that from June 2019 to June of this year, the Lone Star state jettisoned 74,600 jobs in the education sector, Collum says there were new graduates from universities across the state who accepted positions.
“I don't think that it had that much of an impact or we would have heard more about it,” she said.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reports 743,284 confirmed coronavirus cases and 15,604 fatalities as of Sept. 30.
“Many teachers chose to leave because of COVID, but I have yet to hear about widespread job loss,” Collum told the Lone Star Standard.
Zippia also reported that many states reacted to the pandemic's economic impact by cutting education budgets, leading to the release of not only teachers but also administrators, bus drivers, maintenance personnel and other support staff.
But Collum said the opposite is true for Texas school districts.
"I can not say why other education workers may have left education, but Texas actually fully funded the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year,” she said. “The state of Texas also bought more PPE for districts.”
PPE, also known as personal protection equipment, includes face masks used to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Such precautions were not enough for some parents of school-aged children who are opting to home school, according to Texas Monthly.
“I do not think it was much of an impact,” Collum said. “Parents chose to homeschool for health reasons. I do not think that this was an issue.”
The Texas Home School Coalition reported a 400% increase in school withdrawals through the website since August.
