The recession of 2008 affected citizens in both the private and public sectors. Schools were no exception. Teacher pay was cut due to this recession and due to tax cuts that followed. Ever since then, teachers have been advocating to get a raise to keep up with the rate of inflation.

Abryanna Baldwin, a freshman whose mother is a teacher, said “I think teachers should get paid more because they’re the reason why everyone learns the things they do today.”

Due to this mindset, it pushed teachers to protest against the loss in pay, resulting in the Red for Ed cause. The participants in this movement wear red on Wednesdays and on Mar. 28, they held a march in Phoenix to peacefully protest the low wages. They marched to have a 20 percent raise and were denied by Governor Doug Ducey.

Principal Dan Serrano said: “[The teachers] are doing a good job of getting their message out there. The movement in Chandler is big; they are well organized. I have never seen the message get out this big.”

Serrano also explained that there are rules in regards to what teachers cannot do. The protesting cannot be done on campus and there may not be flyers handed out on campus; everything must be off-campus. However, the loss in pay is resulting in Perry teachers making plans to leave the school, some even quitting their job entirely.

Linda Moon, a Calculus teacher who has been here for years, said “Teachers are leaving because their pay cannot support them. Lowery is leaving because of pay.”

The message behind the Red for Ed campaign is raise teacher pay. They say that they cannot live off of $43,800 a year on average and therefore need a raise.

Moon continued with: “I’m a single mom and I run a house with two kids. I got in [teaching] at the right time. But my son, who is a freshman at Barrett, wants to be a high school teacher and coach. It’s the best career ever but I’m telling him ‘No, I’m not paying for it.’ It’s sad but it’s not a career to choose anymore.”