# Nebraska Teachers Cite Burnout, Unpaid Labor as They Quit Profession **Published:** 2026-05-20T10:00:00.000Z **Source:** [Flatwater Free Press](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-breaking-point-nebraska-teachers-are-quitting-saying-they-have-little-choice/) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/nebraska-teachers-cite-burnout-unpaid-labor-as-they-quit-profession LINCOLN, Neb. — After 14 years in the classroom and nine years with Lincoln Public Schools, Ella Ricker thought teaching would remain her career. But mounting demands and unrelenting stress pushed her to resign in May 2025, now earning more as a pet-sitter than she did as an educator, according to [reporting from the Flatwater Free Press](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-breaking-point-nebraska-teachers-are-quitting-saying-they-have-little-choice/). Ricker's departure reflects a statewide exodus. Data analyzed by the news outlet shows that roughly 40 percent of Nebraska's nearly 45,500 certified teachers are not working in classrooms this academic year — approximately 17,660 teachers who left the profession rather than remaining in schools. The Flatwater Free Press interviewed 13 former educators who cited identical reasons for quitting: unsustainable work environments, frequent unpaid labor, and mounting responsibilities without additional time or resources. Teachers described mandatory meetings and trainings extending past school hours with no compensation or administrative recognition. Most said they would not return without major systemic changes. "Every year I was teaching, they kept putting on more and more, like, things that we needed to do, more requirements we needed to meet," Ricker said. "But we didn't have any more time to do them." The challenge is largely one of attrition, not recruitment, according to education researchers. [Richard Ingersoll of the University of Pennsylvania](https://www.upenn.edu/), himself a former high school teacher, noted that "the problem isn't so much that we don't produce enough teachers, it's that we lose too many." Research indicates that attrition comprises about 90 percent of annual teacher demand nationally. Nebraska has reported improvements in unfilled positions — dropping from 669 in 2024-25 to about 490 in 2025-26 — but experts caution the numbers may not tell the full story. Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, said some districts avoid posting positions they know won't be filled, hiding the true shortage. Josh West, who taught math for seven years at Lincoln and Elkhorn Public Schools, quit after the 2023 school year without a backup plan. He described constant anxiety over student progress and feeling emotionally exhausted daily. "I felt like I wasn't making much of a difference," West said. "It was making me anxious. I was not happy. I was emotionally exhausted at the end of every day." He now works for the state Department of Health and Human Services and later moved to an insurance company position — both paying more than teaching. The exodus reflects a national crisis. A 2025 survey from the University of Missouri found that 78 percent of teachers surveyed have considered or plan to leave teaching since the pandemic began. Nationally, about 62 percent of teachers report frequent job-related stress, compared with 33 percent of similar working adults. Lincoln Public Schools has attempted to address retention challenges through salary increases and targeted bonuses. In February, the district approved a 3.55 percent base pay increase for educators, and approved special bonuses up to $9,000 for school psychologists and $6,000 for speech-language pathologists to combat critical shortages. Despite recent policy changes at the state and district levels — including joining the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact to streamline out-of-state certification transfers and eliminating the Praxis exam — educators warn that compensation and working conditions remain the core issues driving departures. ## Sources - [Flatwater Free Press](https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-breaking-point-nebraska-teachers-are-quitting-saying-they-have-little-choice/) - [Nebraska Department of Education teacher vacancy survey data](https://www.education.ne.gov/educatorprep/teacher-shortage-survey/) - [Nebraska News Service reporting on teacher shortage solutions and creative hiring](https://www.nebraskanewsservice.net/news/k12/creative-hiring-keeps-nebraska-classrooms-staffed-in-small-urban-counties-as-teacher-shortage-continues/article_ef822648-e0df-45bd-ad8f-4a62d6c37199.html) - [Lincoln Public Schools teacher compensation agreements and retention efforts](https://journalstar.com/news/local/education/article_8816a851-1880-46fa-90e3-f60838632456.html) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Flatwater Free Press, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-breaking-point-nebraska-teachers-are-quitting-saying-they-have-little-choice/.