PLANO, Texas — It used to be that school districts would post jobs and dozens of applicants would rush to apply. Educators told WFAA in the last five years that has no longer become the case. The combination of explosive growth, fewer candidates and tighter talent pools, has made for a highly competitive job market.
But really, the competition has been on the district side as they feverishly attempt to retain and attract employees.
"The number one job is to take care of kids. Whatever it is around that to take care of kids is what we do," said Stefanie Ramos, who is a director in human resources for Plano ISD.
Plano ISD is no different than any other school district in North Texas, with multiple job fairs scheduled in the days and weeks leading up to the first day of school. WFAA met with Liliana Thornburg who had arrived to a food and nutrition job fair for the district.
Thornburg told WFAA she has 13 years of experience from a district outside North Texas and has the qualifications to manage in food and nutrition.
"They have good benefits and good place to work. I'm applying, and I'm going to wait and see," Thornburg told WFAA in July.
Ramos, who has three decades in teaching and administration, said that it's not just about finding people, but finding the "right people." Staffing shortages are nationwide and in almost every position, teaching and non-teaching.
"Shortages just means, OK, what can we do out of the box to make sure that we have those staff members on our campus?" asked Ramos.
"We never had one until two or three years ago. We never had job fairs until just recently," said Doug Williams, who has been in education for three decades and just retired as the superintendent at Sunnyvale ISD.
Williams said finding high-level math and science teachers, and special needs teachers, is very hard. Elementary school teacher positions are generally easier to fill.
Williams said that just three years ago, he was driving a bus for a few weeks because of bus driver shortages and COVID.
"There is an issue where there isn't enough people entering the teaching profession," said Williams.
The ongoing shortages has forced schools to get creative with hiring and partnering with organizations.
"We certainly are having to use more unique methods now than we had to use in the past," Ramos said. "So we have to be a little more creative in where we're getting people."
She said Plano ISD is building relationships with trade schools, colleges and combing every imaginable job portal available with the hopes they'll walk in like Thornburg has done.
The district has also raised its minimum salary to $15 an hour and raised teacher salaries by almost $2,000. Districts everywhere are offering incentives, including signing bonuses.
Thornburg did get the job she applied for... and just in time before school starts.