LINCOLN - Teachers across Nebraska are burned out, working more hours and losing crucial planning time amid workforce shortages and a rise in mental health concerns in schools. Those are some of the findings of a Nebraska State Education Association survey of more than 3,000 teachers released Thursday, and officials say solutions are needed now.

"This is a crisis," said NSEA President Jenni Benson.

The teachers union sent the survey earlier this school year to about 18,000 of its members, and about 17% responded, answering questions regarding personal stress, student mental health and staff shortages. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they were more stressed than last year, while 57% said they are working more compared with last year.

The survey painted a stark picture of staff shortages across the state, too, as schools struggle to fill vacant positions and find substitute teachers during the still-ongoing pandemic that has decimated the labor market.

With a limited number of subs, teachers have been forced to drop planning time to cover classes. Three-fourths said they have had to cover for colleagues, while 60% disagreed that their district is providing them with the planning time necessary to do their job.

Eighty-four percent of respondents said they've witnessed a rise in behavioral and mental health issues among students this school year, while 64% also expressed concerns about their own mental well-being.

Among the more than 4,300 comments gathered as part of the survey, one teacher put it bluntly: "This year feels worse than last year."

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