LETTER: Clark County School District can blame itself for teacher ‘shortages’

For several years, teacher vacancies at the Clark County School District have been blamed completely on “the national teacher shortage.” When you hear that, you should immediately smell what the folks in rural communities refer to as “agricultural fragrance.”

In the beginning of the 2015-16 school year, the district started with 881 teacher vacancies and was described by the national media as the epicenter of the teacher supply crisis. One year later (2016-17), it had reduced the vacancies by 65 percent and started the year with 309 vacancies, fewer than one per school. Yet it’s gone back up to 750 this year, a 143 percent increase from 2016-17.

To believe that all these vacancies are because of a teacher shortage requires one to believe that the shortage everyone talked about in 2015-16 mysteriously disappeared in 2016-17 and has now reappeared.

Of course there is a teacher shortage — just like there are doctor, skilled trades and engineer shortages (and in fact, most occupations). But good organizations figure out imaginative recruiting strategies, creative application processing solutions and do whatever they need to win the battle for talent.

I’ve yet to see any substantive discussion about this at the School Board and no description of a plan from district leadership to reduce vacancies. It’s way past time those who are responsible not just talk about it but take action to fix it.

With the lack of attention by leadership and the new payroll problems, don’t be surprised if the district starts the 2020-21 school year with 900-1,000 licensed teacher vacancies and 27,000-30,000 students being taught by substitutes. Clark County parents deserve better but, more importantly, so do the students.