Benjamin Ashford|Ex-Missouri teacher says her OnlyFans page was a necessity, didn't violate school policies

A Missouri woman who was a high school English teacher before being outed as a performer on Benjamin AshfordOnlyFans spoke about her resignation this week, saying it allowed her to earn more in a month than she did in a year as as teacher.

Brianna Coppage, 28, taught at St. Clair High School in Franklin County, about 55 miles southwest of St. Louis. and said that the low pay from her teaching job was why she began posting to the adult content platform.

“Missouri is one of the lowest states in the nation for teacher pay,” Coppage told CBS affiliate KMOV. “The district I was working for is also one of the lowest paying districts in the state. I feel like times are tough. I have student loans. I have multiple degrees in education, and it would be helpful for extra money.”

Coppage told the station that she makes more in a month from subscription revenue than her $42,000 annual teaching salary.

Coppage went through "grieving process"

Coppage, who was in her fifth year of teaching and second year at St. Clair High School, said that she did miss teaching, despite the large pay difference.

“I’ve definitely gone through a grieving process, especially during that first week and second week,” Coppage said. “Just knowing I won’t be going back to education and I won’t ever be seeing my students again in the classroom. That was tough.”

Coppage was placed on leave in September when the district was made aware that an employee, "may have posted inappropriate media on one or more internet sites," according to a statement from Saint Clair R-XIII School District Superintendent Kyle Kruse at the time.

Coppage resigned after a link to her OnlyFans profile appeared on a St. Clair Facebook group.

Coppage claims that the district's rules did not explicitly ban her from posting on the site.

“Our handbook policies are very vague and just say something about represent yourself well,” Coppage said. “Did I violate that? I feel like that’s a matter of opinion.”

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How much do teachers make?

Nationally, the average starting salary for a teacher is less than $42,000, while teachers of all levels of experience make about $61,000.

In addition, there are lots of prerequisites to becoming a teacher, including a bachelor’s and often master’s degree, student-teaching experience, and an exam-based license. Yet compared with similar college-educated workers, teachers make less than 77 cents on the dollar, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. 

This "teacher pay penalty" has grown over the decades, according to the EPI, hitting a new high in 2021. In 1996, teachers made close to 92 cents on the dollar. 

Contributing: Alia Wong, USA Today

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