Las Vegas NowStaggering Teacher Shortage in Clark County
The teacher shortage in Clark County has reached staggering levels and now the school district is pleading for help. As of this week, the district has made more than 1,200 offers, more than 500 accepted. But even so, the school district believes they may start the next school year with more than a thousand vacancies.
The school district sent a flyer out to every principal in the valley. It shows the difficulties the district is having in attracting teachers to come here. It also asks principals for their help.
The subject line of the memo -- all in capital letters followed by exclamation points -- only begins to tell you how serious the problem is. The Clark County School District has fallen on tough times when it comes to recruiting teachers.
Dr. Jeff Geihs is Cheyenne High School's principal. "Well, I think we're in critical condition," he shared.
Every Clark County principal, including Cheyenne Dr. Geihs, received the memo from the school district asking for ideas about how to solve the problem. The problem and the solution are actually clear-cut. It's all about economics.
Dr. Geihs continued, "I think the average salary is around 28,000 a year. So, for a teaching couple you're talking 28,000 a piece. You're talking less than 60,000 and the average home costs 300,000 plus. That's quite problematic."
Education advocates say the blame regarding low salaries may lie with our elected officials. In the meantime, the school district must prepare itself for the worst-case scenario.
CCSD's Dr. George Ann Rice said, "What we're preparing for is that we may be 1,000 teachers short."
Even principals admit their ideas can only help so much. "And a lot of retired teachers and retired administrators who I have spoke with personally would be interested in coming back on a part time basis," Dr. Geihs said.
The future of local education looks like it's heading toward some rocky times and the question may be: pay now, or pay later.
Eyewitness News spoke with one teacher who said she was leaving Clark County. And she said pay was a major factor in her decision to leave.
At the start of the new school year, CCSD will be short about 400 teachers. Out of their current staff, 317 teachers already have submitted their resignation for the upcoming school year and 84 are going into retirement.
Email reporter Adrain Arambulo at aarambulo@klastv.com
