Columbus Municipal School District is looking to fill about 25 classroom teacher vacancies with its upcoming district job fair.
Superintendent Cherie Labat will host the district’s second job fair at Brandon Central Services Monday from 4-7 p.m. She said the job fair will work as a preliminary interview for local district applicants to hand in resumes and learn about the district.
“We’re doing intense local teacher recruitment,” Labat said. “We have a lot of incentives and benefits that really pushes the district forward.”
The district is looking to recruit largely math and science classroom teachers. It’s had vacancies in those areas throughout the year, Labat added.
In an effort to combat that teacher shortage, the board of trustees will vote during its regular scheduled board meeting to approve a new stipend for math and science teachers. Those key subject area teachers would receive an extra $3,500 dollars a year. The special incentive for math and science teachers was spearheaded by business manager Tammie Holmes, who called the district financial decision a necessary cost.
“I felt like we could do more to get that local talent,” Holmes said. “I was thinking an additional leverage would attract those leaders to our district.”
Last year, CMSD hired at least 20 employees from the pool of applicants that attended the district job fair. Last July, CMSD had 64 teacher openings.
Labat added the district also has the TIPP (Teacher Incentive Pay Program) and perfect attendance program as added benefits to hopefully recruit teachers. TIPP offers teachers and employees monetary benefits after the release of accountability scores. If a school improves a letter grade, each faculty member receives a one-time bonus that following December. The new teacher attendance program, which was adopted this year, rewards teachers that have perfect attendance for an entire month, with an additional sick day. Labat said she hopes these types of programs will bring more local teachers to the district.
“The Columbus Municipal School District is moving forward in the right direction,” Labat said. “We hope that if a teacher is a new graduate or in a neighboring school district, they know they will love working here. The culture here is great. My board and I value teachers and we value students and the community.”
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