Education officials in Santa Cruz County – and the rest of the state – are struggling to fill classroom teacher positions and find substitute teachers, an issue that has left some classes without educators and obliged the administrators of certain schools to occasionally take charge of the lessons.

According to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), 13,558 teachers retired in the 2020-21 school year, an 8% increase from the previous year. Of these, 52% said they retired earlier than expected. Most teachers who took early retirement cited challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic as the main reason.

Santa Cruz County Schools Superintendent Faris Sabbah said the problem had also worsened in the previous year of distance education, when districts searched for substitute teachers with the necessary technical skills. to deliver content online, while many who were used to face-to-face teaching were left out. .

This means that it has become extremely difficult to find substitute teachers. Sabbah this week appealed to the community to consider applying for a replacement permit.

“We hope to appeal to the community to consider getting into the field of education, and help us cope with the shortage and perhaps discover a real positive experience of working with young people who would be fulfilling for them, ”Sabbah said.

The county waived the $ 30 fingerprinting fee for applicants. In addition, the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has increased the number of days a long-term substitute can be in class from 30 days to 60 days.

“The ultimate goal, and the most important thing, is to provide students with the best educational experience in the classroom,” Sabbah said. “Not being able to draw on a consistent and reliable subscriber pool makes that really difficult. “

Pajaro Valley Teachers Federation president Nelly Vaquera-Boggs said that as of September 17, there were eight vacant teaching positions at Watsonville and Pajaro Valley high schools.

This means that all teachers on special assignment (TOSA) have been placed in classrooms, said Vaquera-Boggs. In addition, many teachers who this year were to fill positions such as reading intervention specialist have found themselves entering classrooms when their colleagues are ill.

Also, many teachers are losing their prep time, Vaquera-Boggs added, which can make an already difficult job worse.

“Most teachers work outside of their contract time,” she said. “Teachers have families and mental health is an issue that includes teachers. Our educators must ensure that they have this time outside of their contract day to reset. “

Vaquera-Boggs says that in one case, a Watsonville High teacher was assigned to oversee three separate classes.

“Ours is a big district, but we shouldn’t be at this number of vacancies,” said Vaquera-Boggs.

While she acknowledges the pandemic has contributed to the problem, Vaquera-Boggs says that doesn’t tell the whole story. The school administration is also to blame, she said.

“This is the culmination of many years of districts not prioritizing their staff who work with students,” she said. “Do not prioritize them by ensuring that the salary grid corresponds to the local cost of living. Nothing has been done by this district to help alleviate teacher attrition.

PVUSD deputy superintendent of human resources Alison Niizawa said the state as a whole was facing a crisis, along with most other sectors of the workforce, including hospitality and hospitality. restoration.

“Trying to find people to work has just been a challenge,” she said.

Niizawa says the district is currently short of 20 classroom teaching positions.

PVUSD’s board of directors unanimously approved a plan on Wednesday to increase the salary of long-term substitutes from $ 200 to $ 240 per day.

CalSTRS, meanwhile, waived the “blackout period” for retirees, so they can immediately start working as replacements, Niizawa said. In addition, student teachers with at least 90 credit units can also get temporary teaching permits, she says.

“We are working really hard to get these positions filled,” Niizawa said.

[A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the state has waived the requirement for a bachelor’s degree to become a substitute teacher. — Editor]