Local opinion: $2,500 in fines for resigning a job 120 days before the start date? Teachers deserve better

You wouldn’t know it if you’re not a teacher, but February begins contract signing season. In many Tucson-area districts, returning teachers sign legally binding contract renewals in February and March, five months in advance of the next school year. Breaking a contract can mean losing your certification with the Arizona Department of Education. Some districts, like Amphi, Sahuarita, Tanque Verde, TUSD and Vail, also demand “liquidated damages” — up to thousands of dollars in fines for leaving once the contract is signed.

Teacher contracts don’t guarantee the job features that teachers value most: they don’t specify the position a teacher is being hired to teach or even name the salary for the following year. Most districts set teacher pay after the state budget is voted on by the Legislature in June.

What does that mean for teachers? These are our stories.

My name is Jana Akins. I love my job, and I love the district I work for. A few years back, after teaching 1st grade for three years in the same school, I was informed the week before fall break that, when I returned, I would be teaching third grade. Changing grade levels feels violating and akin to being assigned a completely different job — instead of teaching kids how to sound out words, I returned from fall break focused on teaching kids to write multiple paragraphs. Teaching is not “one size fits all” — we connect with families and communities and identify each student’s strengths to help them succeed. Teaching is a craft that gets interrupted with an involuntary transfer because we develop and modify a grade-level curriculum and lessons over years to fit the needs of our students and the school community. All that my teacher contract guarantees is a teaching position in the district.

My name is Marni Gould, and I taught for 12 years in the Amphitheater School District. I put my heart and soul into working with my colleagues and students. Two years ago on Feb. 22, I signed a contract after a verbal agreement that my position would be half-teaching, half-working as a data coordinator. In March, when I was informed that the data coordinator portion was reduced to only one-fifth time, I started looking around for a different internal position. When I didn’t find a good fit, I resigned so that the district would have time to fill it. The date of my resignation was 120 days prior to the contract start date. Two weeks later, I was served with papers calling my resignation “an unprofessional act” and informing me that I owed the district $2,500. I filled out a form to appeal, shared emails and a supportive letter from my administration and appealed to the Governing Board, but my appeal was denied. It was only after my union attorney sent a cease and desist letter to the district that the $2,500 in “damages” were waived.

Districts are understandably desperate for quality hires as our underfunded schools statewide struggle to recruit and retain quality teachers, but not all Tucson area districts demand liquidated damages in their teacher contracts. Kudos to Catalina Foothills, Flowing Wells, Marana and Sunnyside for resisting the urge to punish teachers for the statewide teacher shortage. Liquidated damages are ineffective and make an already-tenuous career track less dignified.

Tucson area districts should be working to make teaching a more attractive profession. Governing Board members can signal their respect for teachers by eliminating liquidated damages in teacher contracts and issuing contracts that protect teachers by limiting involuntary transfers. We are already committed to our students and to our schools. Rethink the draconian disincentives and focus on giving us the time, space, and resources to do our jobs.