Greenfield Union feels the pinch of a staff shortage with more than 20 resignations.

Greenfield Union School District’s Human Resources Department Twitter bio reads, “Our mission is to hire, train and retain.” But the K-8 district of five schools and 3,616 students has been struggling to retain its own staff this year, receiving 22 resignation letters from January through March.

According to those letters, obtained by the Weekly with a California Public Records Act request, at least 14 of the resignees are teachers. They also include administrators like Vista Verde Middle School’s assistant principal and Greenfield Union Elementary’s principal, a resource specialist and a human resources administrator.

The letters express a range of reasons for leaving, including a lack of professional development, lack of flexibility and a long commute. One education specialist at Cesar Chavez Elementary wrote, “This year has been extremely stressful and with a lack of support from [GUSD].”

An Oak Avenue Elementary teacher expressed her struggle with balancing work and family life. She wrote that she wanted to make a difference, but “[I] sadly realize that because I tried to advocate for myself and because I ‘became a mother,’ the administrator didn’t believe I would be ‘the great teacher they had heard so much about.’”

Apart from the professional support, prospective employees are also concerned about the cost of living. “Teachers are becoming more savvy and they’re asking, ‘How much is gas?’ and ‘How much is insurance?’ They know these costs are monthly,” says Susan Midori Jones, a labor representative with the California Teachers Association.

Such complaints are relatively common and widespread in schools, according to Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Deneen Guss, who notes a teacher shortage puts additional strain on staff and faculty, particularly since recession-era layoffs a decade ago. “We are rebuilding and still rebuilding,” she says, noting rural school districts can have a harder time.

The Monterey County Office of Education regularly hosts job fairs and helps establish pipelines to create more local teachers who are already acclimated to the culture and cost of living. They’ve created induction programs for both administrators and instructors with mentorship and grants that offset financial barriers to credentialing.

But some things remain difficult to change, like the need for training and competitive salaries. “Teaching used to be a middle-class salary,” Guss says.

GUSD held a job fair in April, and currently has 23 open positions listed, some with signing bonuses of up to $14,000.