Teacher vacancies are a lingering concern for school districts, with some still working to finalize deficit budgets in the wake of a legislative session that saw no increased funding for educators. Several San Antonio-area districts are better off than last year, however, after a wave of historic raises this summer.
“We’ve lucked out,” Southside Independent School District Superintendent Rolando Ramirez said. “We really don’t have too many vacancies.”
Of about 400 teaching positions, there were five vacancies at the end of July: four elementary teachers and one Career and Technical Education teacher. That is down significantly from last year, according to Ramirez.
The district finalized a budget with the highest starting salary in the region at $61,777 and expects to have a record 6,000 students enrolled.
“Because of the proximity of the neighboring school districts, it’s very easy for a staff member just to opt to go to another school district, and there were vacancies at the surrounding school districts,” Ramirez said. “So, I think the fact that staff know that Southside is one of the highest paid school districts in the area is something that helps them decide to stay.”
Special education teachers wanted
The San Antonio Independent School District, which is studying school usage to determine closures in the following school year, also has fewer vacancies than this time last year, but is still working hard to fill spots.
As of the end of July, there were 230 vacancies out of the district’s 3,300 teaching positions, according to Chris Martinez, the SAISD’s chief officer of human capital management.
The vacancies are in several key areas, including special education, an area districts are struggling to fill nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
SAISD passed its largest pay increase in years at the beginning of the summer ranging from 3% to 9% depending on experience. Stipends also are being provided to teachers, including special education, math, science and bilingual teachers, along with others.
The district is working to reach qualified teachers through hiring fairs and social media marketing, Martinez said, and will work through the first day of school on Aug. 15 to hire.
With the support of the board of trustees and the flexibility of being a district of innovation, Martinez said the district is hiring some teachers before they finish certifications to fill roles.
The district is also continuing efforts to work with agencies to bring educators from other countries to teach, including bilingual teachers from Mexico. Other classes could end up with long-term substitutes. Over 1,000 substitute teachers went through training at the end of July.
Northside Independent School District, the largest in the region, had 271 vacancies at the end of July, with about 40% of those being special education positions.
A spokesman for the district said efforts to hire will continue to ensure every classroom has either a teacher or certified substitute on the first day of school, which is Aug. 28.
Edgewood ISD looking for bilingual teachers
The Edgewood Independent School District, which approved a 3% pay raise for next year, has about 30 vacancies out of about 528 positions this year after being fully staffed around this time last year.
“A lot of our needs are in specialized areas,” Edgewood Superintendent Eduardo Hernández said. “Specifically bilingual [teachers] are a huge need right now.”
The shortage of bilingual teachers comes despite the district offering one of the highest stipends to the educators in the region. It reflects a statewide challenge, according to the Intercultural Development and Research Association, which has advocated for more funding and resources from the state to address the issue.
The shortage also comes amid an uptick in retirements in the district, Hernández said, driven in part by the focus of state politics on education in recent years,
“I think people that are currently in the system that continue to work, because of their love for children have decided, ‘hey, it’s time to retire,'” he said. “They were holding [off, but now,] they’re retiring.”
Hernández has spoken out on social media against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who posted about public schools spreading a “woke agenda.”
“As we welcome back teachers, it behooves us to stand tall for our warriors in the classroom,” Hernández said in reference to Abbott’s accusation. “Nobody is pushing any agenda. You are spreading a false narrative! These words disparage the sacrifices each teacher makes over a lifetime!”
The district is also working to bring more teachers into the profession, with plentiful student-teacher placements from UTSA. Of the 30 UTSA students who did their student teaching in the district last year, 20 continue to work for the district.
Another Edgewood program gives guarantees of a job in the school district to current early college high school students after they commit to completing a bachelor’s degree. Those students are starting their junior year next week.
Plans if vacancies are left empty
With school starting next week in Edgewood ISD, the district has plans to work around remaining vacancies, including the possibility of larger class sizes.
If that occurs, teachers will receive extra pay for the period they have extra students, and the district will work to provide additional paraprofessionals for those classes.
With five campuses out of 18 fully staffed, central administrators may also end up in the classroom depending on the final employment tally when the school year starts.
“If we have to, we pull from the central office, and we put them in classrooms until we identify people,” Hernández said. “Because everything revolves around the classroom.”
With another special session expected next month to discuss education issues, Hernández said the stakes are high.
“The bottom line is the research shows you there are two school-related factors that affect student achievement: one is the teacher quality, the second is the principal quality or the leadership of the school,” he said. “So, not having a teacher puts a student in a position that they don’t have a high-quality person.”
