LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Clark County School District is launching a recruiting campaign aimed at offering career advancement opportunities to current employees along with new career options for interested applicants.
The campaign comes as a new regulation passed allowing the district to hire substitutes with only a high school diploma and an hour of training during a state of emergency.
Typically, substitute teachers need at least 60 college credits or an associate's degree or higher to be licensed to work as a substitute for CCSD.
“We need to make sure that in the end, we have highly qualified, highly trained teachers in our classrooms," said Reuben D'Silva, a teacher with the district. "Again, I welcome the fact that we’re gonna get some help but this can’t be a long-term solution to our teacher shortage. That would be unacceptable to me as an educator."
"If you’re going to have an 18-year-old be a sub, you’re dealing with your colleagues, there’s going to be issues there,” he added.
A spokesperson with the district said they support the emergency substitute option, adding that with the nationwide teacher shortage, school districts across the state and country must utilize every option and avenue.
“That kind of scares me in a way. It stresses me out. I see it as a lack of intelligence for them to just bring anyone, and I feel like the quality of education might go down too,” said Irina Prodan, a high school freshman.
CCSD has made several attempts to recruit more employees and ease the impacts of the staffing shortage.
At the start of the school year, they asked state officials to lend them National Guard members to serve as bus drivers but were denied.
The district altered bus route schedules and partnered with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada to bus some high school students to school.
It also came up with incentives, like cash bonuses, to help retain their staff.
