Replacing teachers who quit jobs in U.S. is a costly business

S.F. district spends $12 million per year to maintain staffing

Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, June 21, 2007

About 500,000 teachers across the country flee their jobs every year -- a persistent churn and burn that costs public schools an estimated $7.3 billion annually, according to a national report released Wednesday.

"Schools are able to hire enough teachers, but they just can't keep them in the classroom," said Tom Carroll, president of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, which conducted the study, released Wednesday.