That is the response of Alisha Thomas Searcy, Democrat candidate for State Superintendent, to the pay hike teachers statewide received on the final day of the 2022 Georgia General Assembly session.

“It is a good first step. With all that we expect from educators, especially in the last two years, teachers deserve more. They are underpaid,” argues Searcy, a former six-term Cobb County State Representative. “It has been grieving to hear how teachers statewide have been struggling financially, yet still show up for our students daily to teach and manage their classrooms.”

During a recent hourlong “listening session” with teachers across the state, Searcy heard the anguish and plaintive pleas of K-12 educators who feel they are dismissed, disrespected, and undervalued.

“She is just a teacher,” is an all-too-often insult aimed at them Searcy was told. “This is just unacceptable for us to treat teachers this way. If we are not paying you like the professionals that you are and giving you the resources in the classroom you need, how can we expect you to be successful?

“I actually think teachers should be recruited and paid like NBA and NFL superstars.  If we invest in teachers, if we treat them with the respect they deserve, and if we pay them what they deserve, we will change how society sees teachers and the profession as a whole.”

The interactive session revealed that teachers covet and should command a $60,000 or $70,000 starting salary and make as much as $120,000 during their careers.

State Superintendent candidate Alisha Thomas Searcy agrees wholeheartedly. “Teachers are speaking loud and clear. If we’re going to address the morale of teachers in classrooms now while also attracting and retaining a new pipeline of highly effective teachers, they need a champion in the State Superintendent’s office who will not only create a space for them to be heard, but also fight for them. The future of our education system depends on it” said Searcy, of the recent pay raise.

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Alisha Thomas Searcy, former six term state legislature from Cobb County as Alisha Thomas Morgan, is running for Georgia State School Superintendent. As a wife, mother, educator, and former superintendent, she champions the student, the teachers and staff as well as parents to reimagine education that propels students to excel within and beyond the classroom. Learn more about Alisha at www.searcyforsuperintendent.com