Earlier this year, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs established an Educator Retention Task Force.
The task force is focused first on finding out why Arizona educators leave the profession, and how they can prevent more teachers from leaving.
Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia said they recently sent out surveys that are due back at the end of this month.
"To solicit feedback from educators throughout the state," Garcia said, "not just current educators, but former educators, to gather data on: ‘Why did you leave what may have made you stay?'"
She said the survey responses will help them come up with solutions.
“Solutions that may not all include financial resources, but actually could include things that impact our contracts, start times, how long of a school year do we have? All these things should be on the table," Garcia said.
She acknowledged money does play a big role, though. When Hobbs established the task force, she cited a report from the National Education Association that ranked Arizona 44th in the nation for average teacher salaries.
