AUSTIN, Texas — Nationwide, school districts are facing staffing shortages, and Austin ISD is not immune. The district, which currently has hundreds of vacancies, hosted a career fair on Saturday at the Austin Convention Center to boost employment.
Arnold Gutierrez with Austin ISD said over 350 people showed up to the event, and 97 people were hired immediately.
District officials say there are about 225 to 250 vacancies, mostly in teaching roles. Both officials and union leaders say events like this are a good start, but retention efforts are just as important.
Austin ISD is one of the largest school districts in Texas. With more than 73,000 students enrolled, Gutierrez said the district is looking for teachers as vacancies plague the nation.
"We have all of our campuses and departments represented here," Gutierrez said Saturday.
Pay starts at $52,190, but the district will offer bonuses and stipends for special education and bilingual teachers. Special Education teachers will see a $3,000 bonus and a $5,000 stipend. Bilingual teachers will receive a $7,000 stipend.
Ken Zarifis with Education Austin said this is definitely a start, but keeping these teachers is a bigger battle.
"If you're not talking to them and you incorporate not just, you know, placating, but if you're not really incorporating them in decision making, you're going to end up with problems down the road," Zarifis said.
Zarifis noted that although the district can try to handle pay and recruiting, the real solutions would come from higher up.
"[The] State of Texas is at the bottom for per-pupil funding, which makes teacher and school employee pay some of the worst in the country," Zarifis said.
Gutierrez said an event like Saturday's is important so that potential applicants can get a better sense of where they'll be working and whom they'll be working with.
"Our district is very big, so this allows the applicants the opportunity to be in one place to be able to meet and interact with individuals, not only from campuses, but from all our different departments, all in one place," Gutierrez said.
Part of that means the district is also including the union – to show teachers they want to work in good faith for them.
Both say it all comes down to making sure teachers remain included in conversations about the profession – all for the good of Austin ISD students.
"This is about how do you get teachers into the workforce to give students what they deserve, and that a teacher that will be there and support them," Zarifis said.