A proposal that would give newly employed Special Education Teachers a $5,000 signing bonus was introduced to the Maury County School Board by Lisa Ventura, Director of Special Programs at Maury County Public Schools.
The signing bonus would be paid in 2 installments – $2500 after 60 days of employment & $2500 at the end of the school year – and would be offered from November 9th through February 28th.
The district needs to hire 15 new special education teachers to meet the needs of about 400 students. Hiring 15 new teachers would cost the school district $87,000.
If the proposal passes, new Special Education Teachers would receive the bonus only if they meet the following requirements:
- Transferring from GenED employment to Special Education position
- December Graduate with licensure or job embedded
- Fully Licensed Applicant
- Have NOT been employed by MCPS-Special Education in the 2021-2022 school year
However, Lisa Ventura told Fox17 News she’s visited nearby college campuses to gauge the number of students pursuing a career in special education.
“The pool is pretty shallow, people are not picking special education as a profession,” Ventura said.
With her proposal, Ventura hopes to attract December graduates or bring in teachers from surrounding districts.
The board will vote on the proposal at their November meeting.
Special Education Teachers are not the only positions Maury County Public Schools is looking to fill. More than 100 vacant positions from bus drivers to educators are currently open and looking to be filled as soon as possible in Maury County.
Across the country, schools are still struggling to fill open positions widely due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Many schools nationwide, including ones in Tennessee, have resorted to shutting down classrooms due to a lack of staff.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Special Education Teacher” by Dscot018. CC BY-SA 2.5.
That’s right. Throw money at the problem. That is how school boards have addressed problems for decades. But it never solves the problem. But it does cause taxes to be raised.