LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Heading into the 2022-2023 school year the Clark County School District was roughly 1,400 teachers short of full staff despite significant pay raises for new hires and relocation bonuses of $4,000 for teachers who accepted a position from more than 100 miles away.
A new emergency order from Governor Steve Sisolak was designed to fill those gaps, but the order was met with significant doubt over how much impact it would make.
The Clark County Education Association, Nevada's largest teacher's union, called the shortage a "crisis" affecting students and teachers like Reuben D'Silva, a history teacher at Rancho High School.
"It's affected my life big time," D'Silva said.
D'Silva said he accepted a request to "sell" his prep periods long-term Monday and will begin working his full-time shift while substituting another class during his preparation time.
He blamed teacher shortages.
"I'm looking at having my entire day now during my B days with only a 28 minute lunch as a break from teaching," he said.
D'Silva said he and many of his coworkers are dealing with extreme post pandemic stresses in addition to those caused by low staffing like large class sizes.
"We're doing a lot more work than we're used to in a crisis sort of situation," he said. "There's a mental health crisis that we're dealing with."
Sisolak's order cut the licensing fees for returning subs from $150 and new subs from $180 to $100 each, the legal minimum.
The order also extended certain provisional educator licenses for up to 6 months, ensuring over 600 educators can continue teaching this fall, according to the Nevada Department of Education.
CCEA President Marie Neisess issued a statement in response to Sisolak's move calling for more to be done.
“The teacher vacancy rates are increasing at an alarming rate. We are in a crisis," Neisess said. "Small steps like this provide some relief but are not the long term solution. We need to grow our teacher pipeline and pay teachers for the professionals that they are.”
A bump in pay did come for some teachers a few weeks before the school year began, according to Carol Tolx, CCSD chief of human resources.
"We are offering a $4,000 sign on bonus for anybody who moves to our area over 100 miles away," Tolx said, "and we also increased our bottom pay."
D'Silva said he still hopes more is done as he believes education is the bedrock on which all else is built.
"We can't grow this economy, we can't make this a sort of dynamic 21st century mondern city, without addressing our education system. Flat out."
CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara released a brief statement in response to Sisolak's announcement.
"As evidenced by recent board action on our legislative bill requests, CCSD continues to prioritize placing qualified teachers in classrooms for face-to-face instruction with students," Jara said. "We welcome these actions by Governor Sisolak and the Commission on Professional Standards to reduce costs for substitute teachers, and extend the deadlines for processing applications for licensed personnel."
The Nevada Republican Party hasn't responded to a request for comment.
