LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Clark County School District is hoping retired teachers can help fill some of their 1,000-plus teaching vacancies.
According to data from the district, there are 1,316 teacher vacancies as of February of this year. That includes 389 openings for elementary teachers and 303 for special education professionals.
On Thursday, the Board will vote on whether to declare a number of positions as critical labor shortage areas, including bus drivers, elementary school teachers, and secondary math, science and English teachers.
The declaration would allow retired teachers to return to the classrooms to fill vacant positions.
Documents cite a number of reasons for having to declare this shortage, including other districts offering higher salaries or better incentives and high turnover rates. They also list various recruitment efforts, including hiring events and alternative programs including UNLV’s Paraprofessional Pathways program.
District officials say they’ve declared critical labor shortage areas “year-after-year.” CCSD documents show the board had a similar vote as early as 2010.
Officials also say the declaration will allow them to put more experienced teachers back into the classroom.
A spokesperson for the Clark County School District provided the following statement:
Due to the nationwide teacher shortage impacting school districts, the Clark County School District (CCSD) utilizes creative recruitment strategies to recruit, hire, and retain qualified candidates to fill vacancies.
As utilized in previous years, the critical labor shortage waiver allows recently retired personnel to return to the classroom to begin serving in those positions without delay. These efforts eliminate hiring barriers for qualified educators looking to return to the profession after retiring. Potential candidates will undergo the traditional hiring process including background checks.
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