UTAH COUNTY, Utah – It’s the first day of school for many Utah kids, who may have noticed some people are already absent. One district in particular has an employee shortage, and it’s not just teachers. The Alpine School District is currently trying to fill hundreds of positions.
Alpine School District spokesperson Kimberly Bird says the Alpine School District is short about 15 teachers, but the real issue is the 200 other staff positions still open.
Here are the main positions Alpine is struggling to fill:
• Minimum of 14 Bus Drivers – the main area of need is in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain
• 26 Custodial Positions
• 27 Lunch Workers
• 46 Special Ed Educators
• 22 Teacher Assistants
• Substitute Teachers
• Counselors, Speech/Language Pathologists, Psychologists
It’s the largest number of job openings the Alpine District has seen in years.
“I think a lot of times people just don’t know,” said Bird. “Some of these positions would allow them to be at the school where their children are attending and that might be something that’s attractive to a parent or a family member.”
Bird also says the state’s healthy economy is another likely reason for the shortage, but Alpine is trying to attract new employees with a little more money.
“The pay isn’t probably as high as what people would like,” said Bird. “We’ve increased all of our support professional positions by at least a minimum of 5 percent.”
Bird says the staff shortage means some students will likely have to wait a little longer, whether it’s for lunch or for the bus. But the district hopes to fill the open positions soon, so their schools aren’t just back – but back in business.
“When you look at the success of a school day, it takes a whole team,” said Bird. “Every single person on the team matters and we hope to get these positions filled as soon as possible.”
KSL contacted several other school districts in Utah. Davis School District is hiring for about 85 support positions and Granite and Jordan Districts are both hiring bus drivers.
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