Arizona’s teacher turnover costs taxpayers $150 million a year
by Shannon Conner and Isabela Lisco, Channel 13 News, AZ Luminaria August 21, 2026 Arizona’s teacher retention crisis affects classrooms and students but it also costs taxpayers money.
A tool from the Learning Policy Institute puts the annual cost of replacing departing teachers in Arizona at more than $150 million.
In Arizona, 14% teachers leave their jobs — double the national average rate of 7%, according to the Center for the Future of Arizona.
The numbers also show a gap tied to training, about 12% of fully certified teachers leave Arizona classrooms each year, compared to about 21% of teachers without full certification.
Over the last two weeks, Arizona Luminaria and Channel 13 News have explored teacher retention solutions — from free residency and certification programs to teachers picking up second and third jobs to stay in the classroom. Watch the video below for more and find the full series here.
https://youtu.be/6D7GqYST67Q?si=H2jhXS47KwgSrvHz
Isabela Lisco is a Report for America corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the Arizona Local News Foundation’s Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.
Shannon Conner is the education solutions reporter for Arizona Luminaria supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
This article first appeared on AZ Luminaria and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Source: This article first appeared on AZ Luminaria and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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