South Bend Community School Corporation struggling with staffing shortages

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The South Bend Community School Corporation is looking to fill roughly 200 open positions before the start of the school year.

Despite the number of open positions, only about 30 people showed up at the job fair put on by the school corporation at the Brown Community Learning Center on Tuesday.

Teachers are at the top of the list of positions that need to be filled for the fall of 2022.

"For the most part where there is a vacancy, we need teachers," said Director of Human Resources Operations Kamika Valmond.  "If we can get teachers in front of our students to get the teaching that they need, we can rally the support around them."

The district is now offering high salaries and bonuses for teachers and other essential staff, but they still have not seen nearly as many applicants as they need.

"Our starting teacher pay has been raised to $43,000," said Valmond.  "We have retention stipends that we're offering, we have professional development stipends available as well, and a plethora of additional opportunities outside of competitive pay."

The staffing shortages have parents concerned about the quality of their children's education.

"I'm ready for them to go back," said Sabrina Schieber, who has three boys in the South Bend Community Schools.  "But I am concerned because I know there are a lot of issues going on."

The district said they plan to continue hiring events and recruitment efforts at local colleges in an attempt to get most positions filled by the fall.

According to the Indiana Department of Education's website, there are over 2,000 open positions throughout the state.

To learn more about available jobs in the South Bend Community Schools, click here.