Coworker convinces clueless new boss to give her a fellow teacher's job because it pays $1.5k more, can't handle it: 'She's getting my 1.5K stipend now, but I no longer have to deal with extra meetings, extra parent phone calls, miscommunication, etc.'

Extra pay isn't always worth the added stress, time, and responsibility. I think that's something we often forget while we're dreaming of our prospective climb up the career ladder. 

Sure, additional income is always nice, but what is the cost in return? For example, say you're already in a salaried position, and the next rung up the ladder, a promotion to a management role, would net you a few dollars more an hour. Sounds great, right? But, by the time you figure in that you have to work 10 hours more a week, that extra pay really isn't all that much. And when you figure in the burden of responsibility and the stress of having to have the hard conversations with the higher-ups instead of being able to tuck your head and get on with your work, you might quickly find yourself wishing you had stayed right where you were.

This reluctance to climb the career ladder has been a recent trend that has been reported on more and more frequently. These articles usually target "Gen Z," who have seemingly taken over from Millennials as the trendy punching bag age demographic, as the fresh young faces who are defying the age-old working tradition of throwing yourself at the career wall until you break. However, I've seen the same thing happening with Millennial workers who opt to take 4-day workweeks, even though it may sideline them from promotions, choosing instead to spend time with loved ones and pursue personal interests.

This teacher held a leadership position amongst their fellow teachers, which would usually be something like a Head of Department. These roles generally have added responsibilities above what a normal teacher would have in the general administration of the staff and students' activities. Sometimes they're actual promotions, and sometimes they're like bonus responsibilities with an added stipend. 

This teacher held a position that was something like that, until a backstabbing coworker managed to get their new boss on her side, stealing the leadership from the teacher.

Well, sometimes you play with fire and you get burned, and the coworker quickly learned that she didn't have the skills or experience to handle that extra responsibility in any sort of timely fashion. On the flip side, the teacher found that she kind of liked not having to deal with so many angry parents on the phone for only $1.5k a year more.

Good luck to all those teachers out there returning to school after a long and hot summer. We're rooting for you!