Shortage of Teachers
December 28, 2007

Throughout my legislative service, I have talked about the importance of a solid educational system and good teachers. And during the 2008 legislative session, I believe education-related legislation will be high on the Legislature’s list. There are a number of issues to consider.

One issue that has been in the spotlight is a shortage of teachers. The Bureau of Business & Economic Research (BBER) on the Teacher Shortages reports that teacher shortages are plaguing West Virginia and the rest of the country.

West Virginia’s Education Personnel Data Report for the 2006-2007 school year showed more than 3,800 teaching positions posted for K-12 public schools about 390 of those positions were left unfilled for the school year, 75 percent of them due to lack of qualified applicants. More than half of the positions that were left unfilled were for special education teachers, followed by math and science.

Various reasons for the current teacher shortage were presented to the committee including: uncompetitive wages, increased demand in special education and high rates of departure from younger teachers. Other problems presented in the study were the strict certification requirements and teacher training programs that numerous qualified individuals will not partake in.

Meanwhile, close to 6,000 of the state’s 24,000 educators will be eligible for retirement next year, and that number is expected to climb in the coming years.

In early December, the West Virginia Department of Education’s Teacher Shortage Task Force Committee released a plan to try to stem the growing shortage. The task force includes members of the state Legislature, West Virginia Board of Education, teachers’ associations, higher education institution representatives, superintendents, personnel directors, principals, pre-service and in-service teachers and state Department of Education staff.

The following are some highlights of recommendations provided by the Task Force: increasing teacher salaries; launching a coordinated recruitment and retention campaign to attract and retain a qualified teacher work force; expanding certification of K-6 and K-8 elementary teachers; allow all currently certified teachers to use the Praxis II exam to expand certification to other subject areas; allow retirees to work as substitutes without losing their retirement benefits; provide financial incentives, such as loan forgiveness and signing bonuses, to teachers in critical shortage areas; improve working conditions; develop streamlined alternative routes to certification; and develop content institutes to prepare currently certified teachers in subject areas, such as math and science.

Another issue the Legislature will be dealing during the 2008 session is the possibility of changing the funding formula that distributes money to the county school systems. The Joint Committee on Education has been developing legislation that would divide the 55 counties into four groups that differentiate by the amount of students per square mile. That is compared to the current formula, which doles out funding based on whether a county is more or less densely populated than the state average.

The state Department of Education also has already announced the basics of its legislative agenda, which includes raising the compulsory attendance age, and seeking funding for alternative schools, the state’s Virtual School, technology tools, professional development and foreign languages.I welcome and appreciate your input on these or any other legislative issues. Write to House Majority Leader Joe DeLong, Building 1, Room 228-M, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, 25305, or joe@joedelong.com, or call 304-340-3220.