Public schools in Western North Carolina face many challenges, but none so great as the looming teacher shortage that promises to put unqualified instructors in our public school classrooms.

The numbers are staggering: 80,000 teachers needed over the next decade in North Carolina yet just 20,000 produced by all our states schools of education combined. In most WNC school systems, an overwhelming number of teachers are nearing retirement age, which means mass shortfalls will begin occurring soon.

At the same time, wealthier, larger counties are offering signing bonuses, large supplements, and a benefits package that includes moving costs, child care subsidies, college tuition payments, fitness center memberships, rental deposit waivers and more.

To make matters even more difficult on small school systems, some of today’s public school personnel departments regularly engage in a brand of head-hunting that would make some private firms squirm. Several Haywood County administrators recently received letters from Guilford County promising them salary and incentive packages of up to $120,000 per year if they would consider employment in the Greensboro area.

In Haywood County, the chamber of commerce is getting involved in this looming crisis. It convened a meeting last week of business and education leaders who will begin considering how to help address the problem.

“This is an economic issue, and if we don’t work together we will be paying for it,” said Bob Hill, the executive director of the chamber.

Hill hopes that business leaders can help the school system fashion a package of incentives for teachers. That could help combat the lure of more money being offered to the top teacher recruits, hopefully bringing some of them into the school system and keeping those who already work here. But counties will also have to do their part, finding ways to reward good teachers who stay in their school systems.

The debate over quality schools reaches far beyond the borders of Haywood County. President George Bush and leaders in Congress are trying to decide what kind of national student testing standards should be implemented. In this state, end-of-grade tests are being used to determine whether some students get promoted to the next grade, placing more emphasis on teachers and principals.

At the same time, state and local budget shortfalls are promising to take money away from local school systems. That means extra teachers who help keep class sizes down and eliminate combination classes in elementary schools will probably be cut, raising the expectations on teachers who are left to manage classes that are too large.

A random confluence of factors - a large percentage of teachers reaching retirement age, increased emphasis on testing, and a state and local budget squeeze - is going to test our local school systems over the next few years. Keeping good instructors in the classroom will be ever more important, and it will take entire communities working together to do the job. If we fail, it will take years to recover.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News