LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With the start of the school year around the corner, thousands of returning and new teachers are eager to welcome students back to the classroom.
"Being an English teacher, I love literature, and I love reading," said Laura Austin, who is a new CCSD teacher. "They don't have to love the books I teach them, but they can all love a book somewhere."
Austin was an intern for CCSD and later became a teacher in Lyon County but decided she needed a change and made the move to Las Vegas.
"Since the pandemic, I think all school districts are scrambling trying to figure out how to bridge some of the education gaps and some of the challenges in Lyon County was just a lot so I decided I needed a change so Northwest CTA seemed like a really great place to go," Austin said.
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She said the current pay increase new teachers would be getting — thanks to the latest contract signed last December with the teacher's union — was a big reason for her move.
According to CCSD, the new entry-level salary for teachers is roughly $54,000, which is about $4,000 more than the previous year.
"The cost of everything has gone up so much like rent and everything…and so I was like I can actually afford rent now," Austin said.
"The compensation package, that has had a positive impact," said Jason Ginoza, Assistant Human Resource Officer for CCSD.
Ginoza said the increase in teacher pay along with other recruitment efforts helped the district fill many teacher vacancies in the district.
"We are 150 hires ahead of where we were last year," Ginoza said.
However, CCSD still needs 1,030 teachers.
While the number may sound alarming, you have to remember that CCSD has more than 18,000 teachers in the district.
That's about three vacancies for every 50 teachers.
Nevertheless, CCSD said that they will continue to fill those positions.
"Like I said, we are continuing our efforts to recruit teachers. Our efforts don't stop. This is a 12-month effort," Ginoza said.
A spokesperson said that the district also has roughly 5,000 substitute teachers ready to fill in when needed.
Meantime Austin said she is eager to start providing an exceptional education to our valley kids.
"We want them to know that they are capable, and they can learn," she added.
