By ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson USD 308 Director of Personnel Rick Kraus says the district is faring better than others when it comes to finding and — most importantly — keeping teachers in the district.
“It’s varied from district to district,” Kraus said. “I’ve talked with HR people who have said that they have, by far, more retirees and resignations this year than they’ve ever had.”
Kraus says that is not the case for USD 308.
“We’re with a group of districts that have said that we’re actually under our average,” Kraus said. “Maybe our teachers and staff are that much more resilient.”
Still, Kraus says the number of available teachers continues to be limited.
“The pool is really no deeper than it has been in the last four or five years,” Kraus said. “Overcoming where we were four or five years ago takes five or six years to get more graduating high school seniors into the teaching pipeline.”
Kraus says that it’s not just finding teachers, it's finding other employees as well.
“It’s not just about teachers, it’s also about custodians and food service,” Kraus said. “There are just not a lot of people interested in moving into those positions. The fact that Reno County is, to a certain extent, aging out. So there’s less reason for young families to move to the area.”
Kraus says the ability to reach out to more potential teachers remotely has helped find the right candidates.
“In the past, it’s always been, ‘What day can you be here?’” Kraus said. “And one of the things that we’ve learned from the pandemic is you can remotely talk to people and have quality conversations without requiring travel.”
Until they find new and better ways to get people into the county, Kraus says the problem with employee shortages will continue.
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