A statewide teacher shortage has forced school districts to get creative in attracting suitable candidates — and it appears Jersey City educators are being poached by other districts across the state.
With 44 vacancies — and seemingly one teacher leaving for every spot that gets filled — Superintendent Norma Fernandez acknowledged Wednesday that it has become increasingly difficult to retain teachers since returning to school after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Not just that there’s a teacher shortage, but one of the things that seem to be a problem is that there are fewer candidates or fewer young people going into teaching,” Fernandez said. “If a district is able to offer more money or a shorter commute, then staff will go. … Because there are shortages around the state, people are finding what is best for them.
“The vacancies are constant because when we hire someone, then someone else resigns.”
Unlike districts like Newark and Paterson, Jersey City has not offered signing bonuses to new teachers. Fernandez declined to discuss potential incentives because of impending contract discussions with the teachers’ union. Instead, Jersey City raised its starting salary from $54,000 to $61,000.
There are vacancies for bilingual education, special education, high school math, high school English and high school science. For the 2022-23 school year, the district saw 39 retirements and deaths, which is normal, and 93 resignations (roughly 3%), which is not.
Fernandez said most of the vacancies are at high schools like Snyder, Lincoln and Dickinson. While 44 teachers might not seem like a lot, each high school teacher handles at least five classes. The district has given other teachers stipends to pick up additional classes as a stop-gap measure.
Dickinson High School student Sara Khiri said at Thursday’s school board meeting it’s not enough.
“I personally experienced the first marking period teacherless in a U.S history class, at times with a substitute, at times without,” Khiri, a junior, said during public comment. “The lack of presence has led to a complete shift in student focus and respect. Many of my peers have led themselves amok.”
Jersey City Education Association (JCEA) President Ron Greco said rising costs and commute time have played large roles in teachers’ decisions to move to another district. He said one former Jersey City teacher gave up a two-hour commute for a position in Linden, just 12 miles from her home.
“It’s the traffic, the price of gas, the inflation and people have the option now to be closer to home because there are so many vacancies everywhere,” Greco said. “Use to be, traditionally, it was always, let me go to a large city. They are always looking for people because they have thousands of teaching jobs, but nowadays the suburbs, too. They are dying to get people.”
According to a 29-page report from The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the main drivers of the teacher shortage are not only compensation and stress, but also a lack of interest in the field. EPI is a non-partisan national think tank that researches economic trends and policies in the United States.
“Simply, there are too few qualified teachers willing to work at current compensation levels given the increasingly stressful environment facing teachers,” the report published on Dec. 6 said.
The teacher shortage across the country was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when many teachers resigned or retired out of concern about catching the coronavirus.
Jersey City held a job fair on Jan. 21 and interviewed about 60 candidates and offered contracts to some of the potential teachers, Fernandez said.
Newark, the largest school district in New Jersey, raised its starting salary to $62,000 and also offered $1,000 bonuses to employees upon successful referrals.
In June, Newark offered $4,000 signing bonuses for new hires in math, science, special education, bilingual education and English as a second language. Paterson public schools offered a signing bonus of $7,500 last fall and hired 149 teachers.
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