Teachers across North Texas are hard at work, readying their classrooms as the start of school inches closer for more students.
Teachers, like just about everyone else in the workforce, are hard to find. But an increasing number of district leaders are saying they're ready.
From Sunnyvale ISD to Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Rockwall to Burleson, districts are telling us they're more than 95% staffed. Those are numbers that are not unusual for most school districts this time of year. But don't think that means the shortage isn't real.
"Monday, Fort Worth had about 300 teacher vacancies, I know administration is coming up with a plan to address that but some schools are worse than others," said Steven Poole of the United Educators Association's Fort Worth Chapter.
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Fort Worth ISD didn't get back to us with staffing details this week. Frisco is OK on teachers but struggling with bus drivers. Poole said, while many districts may have filled the gaps, the problem doesn't end there.
"Its one thing to get them in the door. It's another thing to keep them," he said. "Teachers are leaving the profession in droves. They're retiring if they're eligible or deciding this is not right for them," he said.
Districts a bit further out like in Mineral Wells have moved to a 4-day calendar this year. It's not to save money, but to use it as a bargaining tool to keep teachers in Mineral Wells.
"I didn't think it would be something we would do or be interested in until we started losing teachers to the surrounding schools," said John Kuhn, superintendent of the Mineral Wells ISD.
Incentives are out there. From higher pay in DeSoto to free childcare in Grapevine-Colleyville. But will it last? Each year teachers are walking away, and districts are feeling it more than ever.
