'I need a college degree to make this?' Second grade teacher vents fury by posting her paycheck and meager $130 'raise' after completing 60-hours of professional development courses

  • Second grade teacher Elisabeth Milich shared a picture of her salary and her meager yearly raise on Facebook 
  • Despite completing 60 hours of professional development work, her raise amounted to just $131.25 over the course of a year to $35,621.25
  • The Whispering Winds Academy in Phoenix teacher said she posted the image to raise awareness towards teachers' low pay in Arizona
  • Her post adds to the #RedForEd movement in Arizona that has seen teacher strike and don red to protest against low pay
  • She also spoke out to prove Arizona Governor Doug Ducey wrong on his claims that the average teacher is paid $48,000

An Arizona teacher has gone viral after she posted her $35,621.25 salary revealing her shockingly meager $131.25 pay raise despite completing 60 hours of professional development work. 

Elisabeth Milich, a second-grade teacher at Whispering Winds Academy in Phoenix, took to Facebook to educate her followers on the pitiful compensations Arizona teachers receive.

Her post has added to the fire of national debate over teacher salaries. 

Second grade teacher Elisabeth Milich shared a photo of her salary and $131.25 raise to show how little teachers get paid, even after completing hours of  professional development work

Second grade teacher Elisabeth Milich shared a photo of her salary and $131.25 raise to show how little teachers get paid, even after completing hours of professional development work

She posted this image to show her old and new salaries, earning a raise of just $131.25 despite putting in 60 hours of professional development work to boost her pay 

She posted this image to show her old and new salaries, earning a raise of just $131.25 despite putting in 60 hours of professional development work to boost her pay 

Her Facebook brought her viral fame and brought attention to the movement of teachers in Arizona rallying for better compensation

Her Facebook brought her viral fame and brought attention to the movement of teachers in Arizona rallying for better compensation

2016 Elementary School Teacher Salaries Ranked 

1: Rhode Island, $70,486.

2: Connecticut, $70,156. 

7: California, $65,370. 

9: Oregon, $62,621. 

19: New Mexico, $59,047. 

26: Texas, $55,930. 

27: Nevada, $55,582. 

28: Utah, $54,814. 

36: Indiana, $52,701. 

40: West Virginia, $50,956. 

45: Colorado, $47,413. 

48: Florida, $46,653.

49: Oklahoma, $43,192 

50: Arizona, $42,474. 

According to Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy

Milich took to Facebook to post a picture of her $35,490 per year salary and how it would rise, albeit minimally, after she completed 60-hours worth of professional development courses.

Such courses are often taken to boost a teacher's skills as well as salaries. 

'I’ve debated about posting this but in the end want to show what a teaching salary really looks like in Az. This is my new pay after taking a few professional development classes,' she wrote.

'I actually laughed when I saw the old salary vs. the new one. I mean really, I need a college degree to make this? I paid 80,000 for a college degree, I then paid several hundred more to transfer my certification to Az,' she added. 

Her pay stub revealed her income would jump to $35,621.25, a difference of just an additional $131.25 next year. 

'I buy every roll of tape I use, every paper clip I use, every sharpie I grade with, every snack I feed kids who don’t have them, every decorated bulletin board, the list could go on. I love teaching! BUT…the reality is without my husband’s income I could NEVER be an educator in this state!' she added.

'I’m sad for my single mom teacher friends working three jobs to make ends meet! Something must be done…otherwise our poor children will be taught by unqualified, burned out, and just plain bad teachers! P.S. No one goes into teaching for the money, by all means…but we do need to eat and have a home!' she said. 

Milich worked for the Paradise Valley Unified School District in Phoenix. 

Milich, above, spoke to local news outlets on her post in which she said: 'I love teaching! But the reality is without my husband’s income I could NEVER be an educator in this state'

Milich, above, spoke to local news outlets on her post in which she said: 'I love teaching! But the reality is without my husband’s income I could NEVER be an educator in this state'

Her post adds to the #RedForEd movement that sees teachers across Phoenix-area schools strike for better compensation 

Her post adds to the #RedForEd movement that sees teachers across Phoenix-area schools strike for better compensation 

The strike sees teachers don red and take to the streets in a walk out demanding better pay

The strike sees teachers don red and take to the streets in a walk out demanding better pay

The protest comes in the wake of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's announcement that the average pay for teachers in Arizona is $48,000, a leap from Milich's income

The protest comes in the wake of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's announcement that the average pay for teachers in Arizona is $48,000, a leap from Milich's income

She added hearing Arizona Governor Doug Ducey boast that teacher’s pay had increased this year also encouraged her to go forward with the post. 

'Our teacher pay last year went up 4.4 per cent to an average teacher pay of $48,000. Now that’s not enough,' Gov. Ducey said while on KTAR radio earlier this week.

She pointed out that her numbers are far from that, falling nearly $13,000 below the 'average' and that her increase will be barely more than $100.

'I don’t know who they’re talking about. Because I know what I live. I see my printout. And I can’t tell you how many hundreds of teachers have said mine looks exactly like that,' she said. 

The median salary for Arizona elementary school teachers as of last year, adjusted for cost living, was $42,474, according to Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy.

The media salary for high school teachers was $47,890.  

Although she privated the post since its gone viral, her message is part of a larger movement brewing in Arizona and across the states for greater pay for public school teachers. 

Last week Arizona teachers saw a #RedForEd movement in the form of protests and walk outs as an outcry against low pay. 

Teachers in the movement say that the meager wages contributes to a shortage of qualified educators.  

'I just posted it to bring awareness,' Milich said reflecting on the post.

'When you see it in black and white and you see what your raise is, it is just laughable,' she added.

A similar movement rippled through West Virginia as well, striking for higher pay.  

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Arizona teacher goes viral for posting photo of $130 pay raise

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