They're paying signup bonuses. They're working harder to save teachers in trouble. Some national analysts say the teacher shortage is a product of inflexible certification requirements, bureaucratic bungling and unappealing salaries. Locally, personnel administrators point to sluggish growth in teacher pay as the main explanation for the shortage, coupled with a mostly booming economy that has offered lots of lucrative job choices. In Federal Way, Christiansen said, full adoption of I-728 provisions immediately could mean hiring 150 teachers this year instead of 100.
School administrators say they are buyers in a sellers' market.
Even Shoreline, known for high standards and strong community support, feels the pinch. The district has strengthened its contacts with teacher education programs, significantly expanded its help-wanted advertising and accelerated its hiring, granting initial interviews at job fairs that once were more for meeting and greeting, said Debra Hillary, Shoreline's human resources director. Like Shoreline, the Bellevue School District long relied on its blue-chip reputation. But four years ago, Bellevue started its own teacher job fair. And if a worthy candidate logs in, human resources director Sharon Howard is ready.