County will look to military for teachers

Terry Webster

Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

A military strike will be the Clark County School District's next line of defense in competing against other large districts for new teachers.

The district plans to step up its teacher-recruiting efforts by targeting branches of the U.S. armed forces -- worldwide.

"We'll be looking for people in the armed forces who are thinking of retiring in the next two to three years," said George Ann Rice, assistant superintendent for the Human Resources Division. "We want people to think of us as a place of retirement and then to actually provide the courses they need to prepare for certification in Nevada."

The district has worked with the federal Troops to Teachers program, an education career referral and placement service for military personnel, but it has not produced the volume of teachers needed.

"So far, it has only yielded a few people," Rice said. "Our needs are so much bigger."

Because of that, Rice wants to reach out to military personnel before they think of approaching the district.

"I thought, why can't we contact people two or three years before they are getting out of the military?" Rice said. "We'll be talking to them about career opportunities and will continue to communicate with them, keeping them up to date and e-mailing them on a regular basis."

The plan also calls for providing potential teachers the college courses they need to achieve certification in Nevada.

"We could do it by satellite, the Internet or CD-ROM," said Rice. She said the military recruiting effort is part of the district's long-range planning.

"You can't just look at the current year," she said. "You have to look two to three years ahead."

The push for next year's teacher hiring gets in full swing March 1, with over a dozen hopefuls being interviewed daily until positions are filled. For the 2000-2001 school year, the district needs 1,500 to 1,700 new teachers.

"We've already made 120 offers, and by May 1 we want to have 1,000 done," Rice said.

Many of the applications -- about 80 percent -- are coming over the school district's website.

Getting new teachers is one issue; keeping them is another.

Sue Strand, president of the Clark County Classroom Teachers Association, has said she is concerned about retaining experienced teachers.

According to Strand, about 5,100 teachers have up to four years of teaching experience in the Clark County School District. There are around 3,100 with five to nine years, 1,700 with 10 to 14 years, 1,300 with 15 to 19 years, 1,100 with 20 to 25 years and 700 with 26 to 30 years. Approximately 450 teachers have experience beyond those ranges.

The 1999-2000 salary schedule indicates the minimum salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree is $26,321. For teachers with master's degrees, the minimum salary is $30,962. Maximum salaries for teachers with bachelor's degrees or master's degrees range from $33,532 to $42,981, respectively. With additional education, pay can increase up to a maximum of $53,141 for teachers with doctoral degrees.

Overcoming the number of other districts competing for teachers is a battle in itself. Clark County, the nation's eighth-largest school district, is unable to match the pay and perks other large school districts are offering.

The problem is compounded by the lack of additional funding from the Nevada Legislature for teachers' salaries, Rice said. Additionally, the legislature did not honor funding requests that would have allowed UNLV's Department of Education to train more teachers.

"Talking about the sunny climate only goes so far," Rice said. "People want to know about moving allowances and tuition reimbursements."

Since Clark County doesn't offer those two perks, school recruiters center on Nevada's supporting business community, its zero state income tax and a rapidly growing school district that has opportunities for advancement.

Always in high demand, special education teachers are the focus of another new recruiting effort. Using a data base, school staffers are sending out 14,000 letters to new special education teachers, inviting them to consider Clark County.

Other areas of need include math, bilingual and physical sciences teachers.

"We also need elementary teachers," Rice said.

The district already advertises in major U.S. airports and plans to extend that arena with video ads on airport CNN television monitors. The clip shows Clark County School District children asking would-be teachers to "come work with us."

If that isn't enough, Clark County also looks to its own support staff to become teachers.

There's still more.

The district needs to hire an estimated 500 principals over the next eight to 10 years. Most of those positions -- 343 -- are tied to growth.

Whether it be a future teacher or principal, Rice is exploring every option to find them.

"It's getting bad," she said. "My cousin's daughter just graduated and I'm trying to recruit her. I talk to people on planes. Anything."