Wisconsin Could Soon Face a Critical Teacher Shortage

Friday, August 19th, 2022 -- 8:06 AM

(By Leah Treidler, Wisconsin Public Radio) With the first day of school only weeks away, rural districts in the state are scrambling to fill positions, prompting many to cut electives, increase class sizes and hire unlicensed teachers.

According to Leah Treidler with the Wisconsin Public Radio, in a new Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance survey of 80 rural school districts, 74 percent said they’re still struggling to fill at least one support staff position, and 69 percent are still looking for at least one teacher.

More than16 percent are still short three or more teachers. "I don't want to be doom and gloom," said Jeff Eide, the executive director of WiRSA. "Because support staff are stepping up big time and doing things that have to be done just because they love what they're doing."

Over two-thirds of these schools have made changes to deal with staffing shortages, with at least 20 percent increasing class sizes, sometimes by 50 percent. Many said they’ve cut electives and extracurricular activities. Some have upped teachers’ workloads or combined positions.

Others have moved teachers around or hired long-term substitutes, sometimes putting them in charge of classes they have no experience teaching. "If they have a shortage in the elementary area, they may be increasing the class sizes to meet that need," Eide said. "They may be bringing in a provisional teacher that is not certified at this time, but is going for their certification to meet the need."

Whitehall School District is among many districts struggling to fill crucial positions, according to Superintendent Mike Beighley. The district is short five support staff and one special education teacher. 

"We're just seeing a dramatic reduction in the number of applicants for positions," he said. "Where we used to get 20 or 30, or perhaps even 100, now we get very few, if any."

Picking from the handful of applications, they’ve made offers for the special education position twice, he said. Both times, the candidate turned it down. In this case, the shortage isn’t because of lower than average salaries, Beighley said.

The base starting pay for teachers in the district is $40,299, topping the state’s average starting salary by more than $1,300. "It's a combination of an awful lot of things," he said.

"Certainly the pandemic and the stresses that came with it are part of that. I think the overall erosion of at least perceived public support of education adds into that. Certainly our ability to provide any long term stability for our educators is certainly not what it used to be." Schools are careening towards a "fiscal cliff," he said.

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