An older New York Post report resurfaced in my social media feed this morning detailing two Arizona teachers, a husband and wife, who were fired after they recorded an explicit OnlyFans video in a school classroom. According to The Post, Thunderbolt Middle School science teacher Samantha Peer and her husband, Nautilus Elementary School teacher Dillon Peer, were pressured to resign and then fired after the video in question surfaced having been shared among students at her school. OnlyFans subsequently also banned their account for violating the site’s terms of service relating to creating content in public venues.
But in reading the article (before I realized it was over a year old), one thing stood out to me: Mrs. Peer’s claim in a video response that she and her husband only made content for OnlyFans because they couldn’t make ends-meet on Arizona school teacher salaries. This has become the standard lament for school teachers who keep getting busted sharing racy online videos. But is it true?
A little digging shows the minimum salaries for the school district that previously employed Mr. & Mrs. Peers is $45,000 per year, plus benefits. Total pay is higher than that, since the Arizona legislature in recent years has directed additional monies to teachers outside the traditional district funding formula in response to previous teacher pay boosts having been siphoned off to other areas of school operations by administrators. But, regardless, let’s use the minimum: $45,000 X 2 = $90,000 annual household income. The median household income in Arizona, according to 2021 Census data, is a bit over $69,000 per year. Median per person income was $36,295 per year. Either way, individually or by household, these two were making more money than the average person in Arizona.
So why are they claiming poor? Because they can. Not because they’re actually poor, but because the public is deeply misinformed about teacher salaries. In a 2020 survey of 600 Arizona voters, OH Predictive found that almost half believe teachers make less than $35,000 per year, including benefits. Only fifteen percent guessed correctly at the time (median AZ teacher pay has since climbed over $50,000 per year). No one overestimated.
The constant lying of the teacher’s unions combined with ideologically-aligned media simping has been effective. The public needs to wise up to the game. $90,000 plus benefits in Arizona is a pretty darn good living, certainly much better than the one the average Arizonan enjoys. And, like all Government workers, teachers receive a benefits package that is massively more generous and comprehensive than anything offered anywhere in the private sector. Typically, those benefits for government employees will equal at least 50% of total pay, or more. Keep that in mind next time a teacher cries poor or tries to claim they’re being forced to sell their body to make ends meet.
Note: the opinions expressed herein are those of Sam Stone only and not his co-host Chuck Warren or Breaking Battlegrounds’ staff.