Frustration and burnout among Connecticut's public school teachers continues to rise, a new survey from the Connecticut Education Association has found.

For the second straight year, large majorities of educators reported dissatisfaction with their jobs, citing stress, interference from non-teachers, and ongoing staff shortages among their largest concerns.

"A lot of this hasn't substantially changed since last year, which is actually very disheartening," CEA president Kate Dias said Wednesday. "It drives to the point that we'd better be doing something. We'd better start taking this seriously, because we can't continue to ignore it."

The CEA's survey, conducted in September, found that only 4 percent of the 7,635 respondents were "very satisfied" with their jobs, compared to 32 percent who were somewhat satisfied, 38 percent who were somewhat dissatisfied and 26 percent who were "very dissatisfied."

Additionally, teachers reported rising levels of frustration with conditions in their districts and said they were unlikely to recommend friends and family members join the profession.

Top concerns, according to the survey, include "stress and burnout" (cited by 98 percent of respondents), "politicians and non-educators making school and classroom decisions" (97 percent), "staff shortages in schools" (95 percent), "educators are not respected" (94 percent) and "too many teachers are leaving the profession" (94 percent).

Smaller, though still substantial, shares of educators cited salaries, school funding, student mental health, air quality and other issues.

As for proposals to improve conditions for teachers, 99 percent of respondents said they support higher salaries, while 97 percent supported more planning and prep time, 97 percent supported a limit on non-teaching duties and paperwork, and 96 percent supported more effective school disciplinary policies.

The survey, conducted as part of a broader effort by the National Education Association, was sent to all members of the CEA, the state's largest teachers union. Its margin of error is 1 percent, the CEA said.

The new results closely mirror a similar survey from a year ago, when a similar CEA survey found that 61 percent of educators believed public schools in Connecticut were on the "wrong track," 72 percent were dissatisfied with conditions in their school district and 69 percent said their level of frustration at burnout were higher than in previous years or at its highest level ever.

At a news conference outside the state capitol Wednesday, CEA members said they'd been worn down by staff shortages and the challenge of educating students with increasing needs, who continue to struggle following pandemic-driven disruptions. In some cases, teachers have left their jobs — or the profession entirely — in search of better conditions.

"They've leaving for smaller class sizes, they're leaving for more pay, they're leaving for communities that support education," said Jennifer Rodriguez, a first-grade teacher and union rep in Newington. "Other reasons are that they want to teach, and right now teaching in a classroom is very difficult."

Many Connecticut districts have reported significant staff shortages, leading to heavier burdens for the teachers who remain, as well as a reliance on long-term substitutes and other temporary solutions. CEA districts entered the school year with about 600 openings, Dias said Wednesday.

Funding for public education increased in the state budget this year, but a union-backed campaign supporting higher salaries for teachers was unsuccessful.

In response to the CEA survey, state lawmakers at Wednesday's news conference pledged to work toward higher salaries for educators during next year's legislative session, as well as greater input from educators about decisions affecting them.

Jeff Currey, D-East Hartford, who co-chairs the legislature's education committee, mentioned a recent report from Dalio Education showing that 19 percent of young people aged 14-26 were "disconnected" or "at-risk," meaning they were not currently employed or in school or were not on track to graduate high school.

"If anybody is shocked or surprised by any of that information, I don't know where you've been," Currey said. "But what we are shocked by is the lack of action or the lack of understanding by folks in power who have the ability to make this change."

Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, the top Republican on the education committee, called for stronger recruitment and retention efforts for teachers and said she was disappointed that burnout and dissatisfaction among educators had not improved in the year since the last CEA survey.

"To have this crisis here still this year, it's something we all have to be focused on," McCarty said. "I was hoping to see the data that said we're all back in good shape, but that's not the case."