The shortage of school teachers and staffers has reached a crisis level in some public schools. An education advocacy group is making recommendations to fix that. Pennsylvania serves more than 1.7 million students in grades K through 12.

Rich Askey, Pennsylvania State Education Association president, said they plan to unveil a state legislative package that focuses on several key priorities to solve the school staffing crisis, including a boost in teacher salaries. Right now, some teachers average about $27,000 a year to start, and the plan calls for money to attract more candidates.

"First to set the annual minimum salaries for educators, school counselors, nurses, and other educational professionals at $60,000," Askey said. "And also, we want to look at a minimum wage for custodians, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, and other support staff at $20 per hour. "

Askey added there has been a dramatic decline in the number of college graduates entering the teaching profession. Pennsylvania issued more than 12,000 fewer first-year teaching certificates in the 2020-21 school year than it did in 2012-13, a drop of 66%.

Askey said in addition to affecting teachers and staff, the shortage has created challenges in the classroom, resulting in some kids having learning problems.

"I know of educators that are teaching two classes at the same time and on one side of the room, they might be teaching life science on the other side of the room, they might be teaching earth science, and that doesn't let our kids have the individual attention that is so needed, " Askey said.

Askey added the legislative plan would be taking a sustained multi-year commitment to be phased in over five years. It also includes paying college students in teacher preparation programs while they are student teaching, creating a scholarship program, and investing in the "Grow Your Own" program to help paraprofessionals and school support staff go back to college and earn their teaching degrees.

Ohio's charter schools have been a topic of debate for more than two decades, with strong opinions on both sides.

Charter schools operate independently of traditional public school districts, often promising more flexibility and innovation. However, concerns about funding persist.

Steve Dyer, former chair of the Ohio House Finance Committee and member of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, highlighted a new report exploring the significance of charter schools in Ohio which pointed out nearly half of all charters in the state have closed.

"Ohio's charter school experiment, which is now about 25 years old, has been an utter failure," Dyer asserted. "Because the state has so heavily invested in charter schools, the average charter school student gets more than double the amount of state funding that a kid in a local public school gets."

Dyer's concerns focus on the disparity in funding between charter and traditional public schools, with charter students receiving significant state support despite some schools underperforming.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, charter schools have higher closure rates, with nearly 50% of them closing by their 10th year. Critics argue the financial investment in a less stable educational system could take away from local public schools, which rely on a combination of state and local funding.

Others contended charter schools offer parents additional choices in educating their children.

William Phillis, executive director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding, stressed the quality of the options is critical.

"There's no qualifications established by the state of Ohio," Phillis pointed out. "Many operators have no clue as to what education is all about, have no clue in some cases how to operate a business. They just see it as a financial opportunity."

Ohioans remain divided on whether charter schools deliver on their promises. On one side, advocates believe in the value of offering educational options to parents. On the other, opponents question the sustainability and financial strain on the broader public education system.


get more stories like this via email

Following a Georgia high school shooting in early September, there's been a surge in school threats across the country.

In South Dakota, safety experts are teaching people to report threats - and teaching schools how to field them.

In mid-September, a threatening social media post caused the Meade School District to move into "secure" status.

After it was proven to be noncredible, County Sheriff Pat West pointed out that social media shares "spread like wildfire," and make investigations much more difficult.

Brett Garland is director of the South Dakota School Safety Program, within the Office of Homeland Security. He advised people to - "report, don't repost."

"We would prefer that schools, parents, students, community members, immediately get in touch with their law enforcement agency if they receive information regarding a threat," said Garland. "Definitely we would prefer they not share those threats in any way."

An anonymous tip line for concerns in South Dakota, called "Safe2Say," is available online or by phone 24/7.

Threatening a school, school transit or other place of assembly is a Class 4 felony in South Dakota.

The School Safety Center offers behavioral threat assessment training, teaching school staff and educators to recognize potential flags for violent behavior.

Garland said more than 200 schools have already participated.

"This training that will help schools," said Garland, "hopefully interrupt somebody on that pathway to violence, before it gets to any sort of active attack."

He said school staff learn to develop a "multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment team," to identify and evaluate threats before deciding on the right intervention.

But he added that there's no specific profile for someone who may be making threats.



get more stories like this via email

Custodians are often the unseen workers who ensure school buildings operate but in Washington state, understaffing can make their work difficult.

Custodians run a gamut of tasks in schools from cleaning to maintenance.

Amanda Shull, head custodian at Kentlake High School in Kent and a member of the American Federation of Teachers Kent Classified, said when there is not enough staff, they have to pick up more tasks during the day.

"I have to say that all the time: we are understaffed," Shull emphasized. "Somebody called out today and we weren't sent any help. So, it greatly affects us because receiving that extra task determines the rest of our day."

A report from the League of Education Voters found Washington state lawmakers are struggling to properly fund the state's 295 school districts. While the state has increased spending on staff, the costs for other items like food, repairs and natural gas have gone up at an even faster rate since the start of the pandemic.

Shull noted her staff often works out of sight of the rest of the people at the school.

"People see me but you never see the real ones that come after school is out, after the events are over, the quiet ones that clean up and make everything presentable for the next day so classes can happen," Shull explained.

Shull stressed the lack of proper funding affects custodians in other ways, such as with equipment shortages. She added she always tells her team when a teacher or student offers appreciation for their work.