Teacher’s Salary Secret Gone Viral: We’ve seen teacher strikes across our country, time and again, as our educators demand more pay.
When one teacher decided to join in the debate, she posted her pay stub,revealing her salary online. And, it caused quite the uproar.
Teacher’s Salary Secret Gone Viral
Elisabeth Coate Milich did something most people won’t do. In a country where we don’t typically talk about our finances and earnings in public, the Arizona school teacher decided to post her pay stub on social media for the world to see because she wanted to make a point about the pay teachers receive.
Milich wanted to show that, despite all the schooling that is required to become a teacher,she and her colleagues don’t make a living wage. Although it was removed because of all the negative feedback she received, Milich’s Facebook post showed that she only received a $131 raise in a year as her salary went from $35,490 to $35,621, according to TODAY.
“I actually laughed when I saw the old salary versus the new one,” Milich wrote in her post.
“I need a college degree to make this? I know I don’t make a lot of money, but then when
I see it in black and white I’m like ‘wow!’ I mean, I love teaching, absolutely love it,but when you see what the salary is, you cannot live on it.”
Milich, who has been in education for years and is currently a second-grade teacher at Whispering Wind Academy in Phoenix,says she debated over whether or not to post her paycheck, according to CBS News. In the end,she decided that she wanted to show what a teaching salary really looks like in her state, but Milich’s picture is bleaker than most.
Although Arizona does have some of the lowest-paid public school teachers in the nation,the average salary for those educators is not the $35,621 that Milich’s check stub reflects.
The average salary is instead $47,218, but compared to the national average of $58,353 a year,according to National Education Association Research, that’s still low.
While those numbers sound much better than the picture Milich’s photo painted, she made sure to point out that teachers are often left to pay for supplies for students like markers and tape without being compensated. She’s also still paying off her student loans, 20 years after graduating from college.
If it wasn’t for her husband’s salary, Milich says she’d be in bad shape, and she knows this because some of her fellow teachers aren’t so lucky as to have a second household income. “My teacher friends that I work with,they work three and four jobs to make ends meet,” Milich explained. “I know teachers that teach kindergarten all day long and then they leave and they go waitress at Applebee’s,” she added.
“If you are a single person trying to make it on what we make, you couldn’t do it,” she claimed,and studies seem to indicate she’s correct about teaching becoming an unsustainable profession. In fact, a 2017 study by the Arizona State University’s
Morrison Institute for Public Policy said that teacher recruitment and retention levels in Arizona are at “crisis” levels. The study found that 42% of Arizona teachers who were hired in 2013 left the profession after three years and that the state’s elementary school teachers are the lowest paid in the country.
These findings paint a dire picture of the future of education in Arizona—and potentially across the nation. Elisabeth Milich’s viral post didn’t just highlight her personal struggle; it became a flashpoint in a growing national conversation about the undervaluing of educators and the consequences that follow. Her honesty resonated with teachers everywhere who find themselves in similar circumstances: overworked, underpaid, and stretched beyond their limits.
Teachers in Arizona, and in many other states, are being asked to do more with less. Not only are they educating children and preparing them for the future, but they’re also managing classrooms with limited resources, often in buildings in desperate need of repair, with outdated textbooks and overcrowded classrooms. On top of that, many are expected to provide emotional support, cover for staff shortages, and address behavioral issues with little to no outside assistance.
The Morrison Institute study pointed to a worrying trend: fewer college students are entering teacher preparation programs, and many who do ultimately choose different careers after graduation. The result? A persistent teacher shortage that leads to larger class sizes, reduced educational quality, and increased burnout among those who remain in the profession.
Milich’s post, though deleted, sparked renewed public debate. Parents, lawmakers, and fellow educators flooded comment sections and forums with both outrage and empathy. Some questioned whether teaching had become a “calling” only sustainable for those with outside financial support. Others called for systemic reform, demanding that elected officials prioritize education funding and restore dignity to the profession.
Several fellow teachers echoed Milich’s experience. “I love my students, but I cry in my car sometimes,” one Arizona middle school teacher posted anonymously. “I have two master’s degrees and still qualify for government assistance.” Others revealed they were delaying health care, skipping meals, or foregoing retirement contributions just to stay in the profession they love.
And it’s not just Arizona. Across the country, similar stories emerge. From Oklahoma to West Virginia, from Kentucky to North Carolina, teachers have protested, walked out, and lobbied for better wages and classroom funding. Many school districts are now recruiting teachers from overseas or hiring underqualified individuals just to fill classrooms—an unsustainable solution to a deeply rooted issue.
Despite all this, many educators like Milich remain passionate about teaching. “I wouldn’t want to do anything else,” she insists. “But love for my students doesn’t pay my bills.” The question then becomes: How long can passion alone keep America’s schools afloat?
Without significant investment in public education—including competitive teacher salaries, benefits, and support systems—the crisis will only deepen. The country risks losing not only teachers, but also the quality of education future generations deserve.
Milich’s post may have disappeared from Facebook, but the ripple effects remain. Her courage in sharing her salary openly struck a chord and reminded the public that behind every classroom is a human being with dreams, financial responsibilities, and a deep desire to make a difference.
For the sake of students, communities, and the future of education, the message is clear: teachers deserve more than just appreciation—they deserve a livable wage, respect, and the resources to do their job well. Otherwise, more teachers may walk away—not out of choice, but out of necessity.
