By Emma Derr
Virginia lawmakers are introducing several bills that are designed to address vacancies created by a wave of retirements by elementary and high school teachers across the state.
Teacher vacancies in Virginia have increased by 40 percent in the last decade, according to a directive by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe. In 2016, there were more than 1,000 teaching positions that were vacant two months into the school year.
McAuliffe signed the directive on Dec. 11, 2017, to address teacher shortages and streamline entry for teachers into the workforce. It also dedicates $1 million to recruit and retain school principals.
This is not a problem unique to Virginia. As the baby boomer generation leaves the workforce and enters retirement, it is creating a national shortage, specifically in teaching positions.
Local school officials said Rockbridge County and Lexington City schools are fully staffed. But they are concerned about the future.
“We all feel the crunch of the teacher shortage, especially in some hard-to-fill areas, like math and special education,” said Scott Jefferies, superintendent of Lexington Public Schools.
Jason Kirby, the director of personnel and technology for Rockbridge County Public Schools, said positions will be filled quicker if it is easier to become a teacher.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate here in Rockbridge County to start out fully staffed each of the last years I’ve been here, but other divisions around us, especially in some areas of the state, have not been so fortunate,” he said.
Kirby said salaries need to be increased to make teaching more lucrative and attractive.
There are several bills pending in the General Assembly that are designed to address these concerns. One of them, House Bill 1125, proposes changes to the licensing requirements.
“Teachers are the single most important factor in the quality of a child’s education,” McAuliffe said in a press release.
“A lot has changed in education in the last 20 years. It has become a much more stressful occupation, especially with the emphasis on high-stakes testing,” said Jason White, principal of Lylburn Downing Middle School. “But the pendulum is starting to swing back, and with performance-based testing and getting kids ready for the workplace, the field of teaching is becoming more appealing again.”
Robin Parker, principal of Central Elementary School, said hiring new teachers presents some challenges as fewer people enter the profession.
“During the summer when I was talking to teachers about possible openings there just wasn’t a big pool to choose from,” she said.
Parker also said some of the surrounding counties pay higher salaries to teachers.
“We need to increase teacher pay because we are still battling to get back to the numbers we had before the recession,” Kirby said. “Then we could be more competitive with jobs outside education.”