High real estate values and the rural nature of San Benito
County are making it difficult to recruit and retain teachers, but
incentives such as signing bonuses and higher salaries help even
out the playing field.
High real estate values and the rural nature of San Benito County are making it difficult to recruit and retain teachers, but incentives such as signing bonuses and higher salaries help even out the playing field.
“We are making every effort in our program to get people connected and successful,” said Tim Foley, county superintendent of schools.
Teacher recruitment has been so difficult during the past years that the state of California considers the county a high-need area, especially because it is rural, Foley said. And compounding the problem is that 2.7 million new teachers will be needed during the next 11 years nationwide, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.
To combat the problem, county school districts offer incentives and higher-than-average salaries.
A new, credentialed teacher can make $34,000 in the county, Foley said. The starting salary for a teacher with a degree and no experience is $40,477 a year at San Benito High School, said Evelyn Muro, director of personnel for the SBHS district. And the salary is for the school year – roughly 10 months.
Special education teachers are the hardest to find and hire.
“Special education teachers are critical,” Foley said. “The problem is that there are so few … because of the rigorous program to get (special education) credentialed.”
The Hollister School District also faces problems finding enough special education teachers.
“Those teachers are in such high demand,” said Bill Jordan, HSD director of human resources. “It’s hard for me to tell principals that I couldn’t find a special education teacher for their school.”
Because of this, the HSD offers a $2,000 signing bonus for teachers with a special education credential, Jordan said.
Besides special education, Jordan said he has been fortunate to fill other positions in short supply, like math and science teachers.
However, one way teachers at SBHS can earn additional money is by being involved in summer school. Also, the high school holds a two-week new teacher orientation in early August in which teachers are paid to attend, Muro said.
“It helps a lot of new teachers since they wouldn’t get paid until the first of September otherwise,” Muro said.
Ripples from Gov. Gray Davis’ proposed budget cuts in education spending may make the situation worse.
“It’s a weird time of the year – with the budget cuts, we don’t know what will happen,” Foley said.
Jordan said HSD officials are waiting to see how the cuts will impact the district and its schools.
While Jordan and Foley prepare for proposed state budget cuts to make recruitment and retention of teachers harder, Muro said it might help.
“It looks like things may be changing,” she said. “With the budget, we’re looking at a lot of different scenarios.”
Muro said the budget cuts will help the situation because some districts will not be able to hire as many teachers as usual, increasing the number of teachers searching for jobs.
But once teachers do get to San Benito County, some end up liking the area.
“Hollister is a good place to work,” Jordan said. “People come in from other districts. They really enjoy it. I think word-of-mouth is good.”
