With the new school year starting in two months, the Vail School District is scrambling to fill 25 to 30 vacancies.
To help fill those positions, 25 of which are teaching ones, the district will hire people on the spot at a job fair May 19.
“It’s not something that we have done traditionally,” said Jena Privette, a human resources supervisor for Vail schools. Hiring usually involves an extensive process, including a follow-up interview with the district’s superintendent, Calvin Baker.
Baker will be present at the May 19 job fair so that applicants could be interviewed right away, Privette said.
The applicants hired will still have to undergo the traditional background checks and verifications before the hiring process is finalized.
The district is recruiting for special education, math, science, elementary school, music and physical education teachers, as well as physical therapists and counselors.
Historically, the district has not had as many vacancies during this time of the year, especially for elementary-school level teaching jobs, Privette said.
But dealing with a shortage in teachers had unfortunately become a norm for Vail schools, she said. “A lot of teachers are leaving the state to teach in other districts.”
Vail is willing to consider teacher applicants who do not have their certification yet, she added.
“They could be in the classroom by July,” she said. “We would help guide them through the process of certification.”
It’s frankly “scary” that the district is having trouble filling vacancies, said Heather Morzinski, a founder of the Vail Parent Network, a parent group that has been advocating for more education funding. The network’s members advocated in Phoenix at the Arizona Legislature during its session.
One of the openings is at Civano Community School, which her children attend.
“My oldest child is going to be in that class next year and we don’t know who the teacher is going to be,” she said.
At the same time, Morzinski said she understands why teachers are leaving: they are not being paid enough.
“We need state funding,” she said.
As for the hiring of teachers who are not certified yet, she said she has concerns about the quality of teachers going down. Some may argue that Arizona’s requirements are too stringent, but a line has to be drawn somewhere, she said.
“Certification is important,” she said. “There has to be a standard for teachers.”
