SAN ANTONIO — Adonis Schurmann has 37 years of teaching under her belt. She's currently a middle school history teacher with San Antonio's Northeast ISD and president of the North East Education Association (NEEA). She's seen many educators come and go, but chooses to stay because of how much she loves her job.
Schurmann also has a front row seat to the challenges facing the public education system.
Last week, she received an email from the new Teacher Vacancy Task Force launched by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
"There was a link that they put out that they wanted teacher input," she said.
"We got a link? I went what? No, no...teachers need to be sitting on the task force."
Five days after the TEA launched the task force, they announced an expansion to include more teachers to serve on the committee.
The first round of members only included two teachers, while superintendents and other administrative staff made up the majority.
In a statement to KENS5, the agency would not clarify if more of those teachers had already been appointed, just that they would be announced at the next meeting.
"I think the task force is a great idea, we’re very glad as teachers that Governor Abbott has decided to reach out to teachers," Schurmann said.
If asked to serve on the committee, Schurmann said she would, though she does have one concern.
"He’s chosen to do it just a few months before his next election," she said. "We really wish he had reached out to us about two years ago."
She's not alone in that concern. President of the Texas State Teacher's Association (TSTA), Ovidia Molina, said "it looks like somebody’s trying to make sure that the teachers aren’t as mad as we are and try to forget everything that’s happened to us in the last couple of years, so that we vote a certain way."
While Molina believes it is too little, too late, for these kind of efforts from Texas leaders, she knows there are real issues facing the education system.
"We hope that this task force is serious about finding solutions, not just for the educators that are currently in the classroom that are hanging on with everything they’ve got but for those future educators that we don’t see coming up behind them."
Still, Molina feels the task force is directly tied into the fact that Governor Abbott is seeking re-election in November.
"We are tired of the attacks against our students, the threats of banning books ,the threats of how we teach, we want to ensure that our students get all of the information possible , the we teach them the truth, that they know their history, that they become critical thinkers all on their own, and are part of this society, this very diverse world that we live in and all that’s been attacked," Molina said.
President of the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, Zeph Capo entered his first classroom in 1992 and said " [teachers] often [deal ]with a lack of respect particularly from state level government."
He does not think Texas educators need this committee, because many already know what the issues are and have expressed possible solutions.
"I made the comment the other day that we can solve this issue based off the comments that were left on my Facebook," he said. "So I probably will organize all of the comments that teachers have left on my Facebook page and send them into the committee because most of the answers are right there."
Capo said pay increases, addressing workload, and getting rid of unnecessary bureaucratic paperwork for teachers are just some of the top issues contributing to shortages.
"Teachers are there to try to work with their students, we don’t need to create a weekly new thesis just so some administrator has proof that they’re justifying their job," said Capo.
Molina and Schurmann both referenced the need to pay teachers for what they are worth, and when teachers do get pay raises, their insurance premiums tend to go up.
"You cannot place additional duties, additional responsibilities on teachers without paying them for what they’re doing, teachers," said Schurmann.
While pay is a critical factor, Schurmann noted the importance of keeping classrooms safe for teachers and students.
The task force is set to meet every other month for the rest of the year. A TEA spokesperson said the agency will provide findings and recommendations in time for the 88th regular legislative session.