EDITORIAL: Teachable moment

The Clark County School Board took a prudent step toward addressing the district’s ongoing licensed teacher shortage by expanding its partnership with Teach for America.

Last week, on a 6-1 vote, the board entered a three-year agreement with the nonprofit, which recruits and trains educators from a variety of backgrounds for jobs in low-income schools or hard-to-fill specialties, to provide up to 525 teachers. Teach for America and the school district had been in a year-to-year relationship. The deal assures the school district of a stream of qualified, highly motivated instructors, while giving Teach for America the commitment it needs to raise the funds that cover the vast majority of its costs.

As reported by the Review-Journal’s Trevon Milliard, the school district will pay no more than $2.1 million to Teach for America over three years — 10 percent of the nonprofit’s costs. Donors, who will cover the other 90 percent, need to know taxpayers have at least some skin in the game.

Teach for America critics complained that school district funds would be better spent recruiting candidates from teaching colleges. Yet those same critics argue that new teacher recruitment is limited by the district’s low starting salaries.

The school district has 600 licensed teacher openings filled by long-term substitutes, and will need thousands of new teachers over the next few years to address enrollment growth, retirements and turnover. Expanding an existing, productive relationship to address this need was a good decision. Teach for America will deliver on its promise.