FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. — Many school districts still have positions to fill, but the need isn't only for teachers.
The Triad's second-largest school district has hundreds of job openings.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Chief Human Resource Officer, Jevelyn Bonner-Reed, said the education field is no different than other businesses struggling to hire. It isn't easy, but they're working hard to get new employees into schools.
"It's a very challenging time to be a part of a school district right now," Reed said. "It's an extremely competitive labor market."
Reed said the district is working with around 345 jobs openings and 20 days until the first day of school.
The jobs vary but include some of the most critical roles. There are 120 teacher openings, 50 to 60 bus drivers, and 120 cafeteria staff.
"Those are the ones we are zeroing in on the most," Reed said.
Reed said teachers and bus drivers are no surprise. The need for child nutrition workers is high though.
“What happened with child nutrition is, we weren’t fully functional for an entire year, in terms of cafeterias," Reed said. "We did have of course food preparation open because we did things like have mobile buses that were delivering food to people, but it was just not a full year because of being in and out of the COVID-19 situation for child nutrition workers. So, now we’re back to needing that fully staffed and competing against McDonald’s, against all these other foodservice organizations that have really increased their pay. I don’t think you can go anywhere, go through a drive-thru and you’re getting a flyer for somebody needing some staff there. So we’re having to compete with that.”
WS/FCS isn't the only district with openings. According to the Guilford County Schools website, they have nearly 800.
Guilford County Schools sent the following statement about their current open positions:
"Across the nation school districts are facing challenging times for recruiting in public education. However, we know Guilford County Schools is a desirable place to work and we will continue to put forth our best effort and find innovative ways to attract new talent to the district."
The Alamance-Burlington School system website shows around 320.
"It is a strain but also we saw it coming," Reed said. "I have confidence that we will have the right people in the right places day one of school."
WS/FCS is looking into additional sign-on bonuses for specific high-need roles in schools. They are still working to finalize what it might be but it will focus on retention.
If you are interested in working for WS/FCS, they are participating in a multi-employer hiring event on Wednesday, August 18.
The school district will be recruiting Teacher Assistants, Maintenance, and other Operations positions.
It will be held at the LJVM Coliseum parking lot from 9:00 a.m. until noon.