Montgomery County public school officials told Board of Education members Thursday that the school system had hired 801 new teachers over the summer and lacked only 20 special education instructors to be fully staffed for the 2007-08 school year. In contrast, Prince George’s County began the school year this week with 151 teacher vacancies.
Deputy Superintendent Frieda Lacey said the district had worked well with labor unions to place themselves in a comfortable staffing position for Monday, when nearly 138,000 students will show up for the first day of classes in Montgomery.
“We feel as though through collaborating more effectively with our unions, we are even more prepared for the opening of the school year,” Lacey told board members.
Tom Israel, executive director of the Montgomery County Education Association, said decent improvement in salaries and a “significant improvement from the state” in teacher pensions left the county with 200 to 300 fewer positions to fill than in many years. Israel also said union leaders had worked with school officials to begin the hiring process earlier than usual.
“The sooner schools get their staffs stabilized, the better it is for everybody,” he said.
Both school and union representatives said filling special education positions has been an ongoing problem for schools across the country.
“Special education is always a problem for school districts,” Israel said. “The paperwork demands are what drive a lot of special educators out of special ed.”
Montgomery has approximately 17,000 special ed students, and changes are ahead as the school district this year will begin phasing out secondary learning centers.
“We had 200 teachers and 300 para-educators go through training this summer to ensure a smooth transition in phasing out the learning center program,” Lacey told board members.
MCPS Chief Operating Officer Larry Bowers said the coming year would be one of physical change as well: One out of every eight schools will have ongoing construction projects during the 2007-08 school year.
