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Local schools remain short staffed but work toward solutions

Karen Richards
/
KLCC

The mood in K-12 schools is generally more optimistic than in the past two pandemic years. And solutions are forming to help with the challenges that remain.

Sabrina Gordon, President of the Eugene Education Association, told KLCC while there is a positive vibe, schools have unfilled positions. She added, “I’m hearing daily from schools who are short on staff. They don’t have enough classroom teachers, they don’t have enough educational assistants, to cover the needs of kids.”

She said some teachers are already exhausted. However, after the passage of House Bill 4030 last spring, schools can apply for grants to help. Gordon said the law requires districts to work with educators, which is key. “In 4J, we have a plan that adds some financial resources toward a ‘grow your own’ program, that helps with recruitment of new educators," she said, "and it also provides some retention bonuses.”

A working group in the Oregon legislature intends to introduce more bills to address teacher recruitment and retention in 2023.

Karen Richards joined KLCC as a volunteer reporter in 2012, and became a freelance reporter at the station in 2015. In addition to news reporting, she’s contributed to several feature series for the station, earning multiple awards for her reporting.