I moved out of state and now teach MS Band in a large district with a strong teacher's union. I work half the hours I did in Texas, get 11 weeks off in the summer, work no weekends, my only after school commitment is 4 evening concerts a year, and if I volunteer to help do extra duties like running festivals, honor bands, etc, I get paid $45/hr. In three years I'll make 70% more than I ever did as a head HS director in Texas, and I'm home by 4:15 every day with time for hobbies, exercise, parenting, being married, etc.
I had to arrive at the point of realization that while music programs in Texas are amazing, it wasn't worth the cost to my health, to my family, and to my marriage. I knew I was unhealthy and burned out, and it was obvious in Region Meetings that I was in the minority, surrounded by people who continually voted for even more activities in the calendar with no more pay. The arms race of continually more practices, more money, more time, more competitions is unsustainable. I have never been happier to be able to just focus on teaching music and making it fun for my students. I'm not playing the same grade of difficulty with my bands that I did in Texas, but I also realized that the fulfillment of that wasn't coming close to the cost in all other aspects of my life.


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