Those figures are for 2019, and certainly there are extremely few (if any) teachers that have a PhD and stick around for 20 years. DCPS loses about 25% of its t

Those figures are for 2019, and certainly there are extremely few (if any) teachers that have a PhD and stick around for 20 years. DCPS loses about 25% of its teachers every year, with the highest poverty DCPS schools losing 40% per year. The rate nationally has been increasing over the past decade. But let's assume six years of experience, which puts their salary with a bachelors at $62,771. The median cost of a home in DC is $545,000 according to Zillow, with property tax approximately $8,992.50. A 30 year mortgage minimum plus the property tax would be around $3,535 a month. Around 68% of the teacher's gross salary is going to housing. This is over double the suggested amount anyone should spend on housing, and definitely not middle class. If they live outside of DC (almost no teacher can afford to own a home alone in DC) the median cost of a home goes down to only $385,000. But state taxes vary; they're generally higher in Maryland, whereas in Virginia you pay more tax to own a car, for example. The monthly mortgage plus property tax in Montgomery County would be only $2,320 per month, so a more affordable 37% of salary. Now we can start adding on the extras, like insurance, transportation, food, etc in an expensive metro area. Speaking of turnover, it's nice that teachers in DC are allowed to live in surrounding areas. In states such as NJ, all public employees must live in the state, and NJ property taxes are the highest in the country. After adding on home insurance (which might already be high) and then extras like mandatory flood insurance (depending on where you live), this leaves teachers faced with potentially paying more on property tax and insurance than their mortgage, or renting an apartment. This is one of many potential reasons for a high turnover rate. Around the country, teachers face not only low salaries and completely unreasonable expectations, but various challenges like the above. I don't think administration is the sole cause of these problems, as administration is usually responding to outside pressure.