The Regional Office of Education for Knox, Warren, Mercer, and Henderson Counties is trying to help fill jobs that are common at every single school district in their region.
Assistant Regional Superintendent Lori Loving says each district needs bus drivers, aids or paraprofessionals, and substitute teachers — with at least two job fairs planned for next month.
Loving tells WGIL the school districts REALLY want to get these jobs filled.
“All three of these open positions… the districts are looking at ways that they might offer incentives or help alleviate some of the cost,” said Loving. “Even initially to get the license and then also making sure that the pay rate is competitive across the region just to try to recruit and retain those positions.”
The Galesburg School District, for instance, just increased substitute teacher pay, which would go higher based on the number of days they worked. Loving says state law also helps, with the recent addition of short-term substitute teaching licenses.
Loving says that subs are not the only job where people are hard to come by.
“One of the jobs that [are] available is the bus drivers, and one of the trends that we’re seeing is a lot of our administrators, our principals, and superintendents, are actually becoming trained and license to drive buses.”
She added that this wasn’t “ideal.”
Loving says, for example, United Superintendent Jeff Whitsitt has ALWAYS been licensed to drive a school bus, and a number of other superintendents are following suit.
Job fairs — where Loving says hiring could be done on the spot — will be September 13th at Silas Willard Elementary School in Galesburg, and September 20th at Lincoln Early Childhood Center in Monmouth.
