As Dana Rickerson patiently waited Friday for her chance to impress school principals, the recent graduate of Augusta State University said she knew the odds were against her.
Related StoriesRickerson was one of about 130 educators taking part in mass interviews with Columbia County school officials at Savannah Rapids Pavilion. The goal was to land one of about 70 open teaching jobs for next school year.
"It used to be that you were pretty safe finding a job as a teacher. Now, that's not the case. Not anymore," said the 22-year-old, who would like to teach elementary school.
Locally and statewide, officials say, the supply of teacher applicants has outpaced available jobs as state funding plummeted and class sizes increased. About 80 percent of the state's $9.8 billion education budget is spent on salaries.
"No one has money to hire staff, so they're cutting back and really trying to hold the line," said Tim Callahan, a spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators.
Officials also say that long-time teachers worried about their financial security are postponing retirement.
Between 2003 and 2009 lawmakers slashed education spending by nearly $500 million. Cuts for next year might top $1 billion, according to literature from the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.
Columbia County
Of about 1,500 applicants considered by the school system, just 132 were invited to attend Friday's interviews.
Columbia County schools Human Resources Director Anthony Wright expects to hire about 70 teachers this year, about the same as last year.
In 2008, the school system hired 170 teachers and even more the year before that.
"There just aren't enough jobs for those kids (college graduates) in a regular school system these days," Wright said. "We're a school system that prides itself on finding good, young teachers and growing them into great teachers, but that's just not the way the world works right now."
Wright expects about 50 educators to retire, which is about 30 less than in a typical year. About the same number retired last year.
The only jobs that seem plentiful now are for high school math and special education teachers, he said.
In recent years, Columbia County has lost about $13.8 million in state funding, and Superintendent Charles Nagle said he expects to lose as much as $8 million more next school year.
To absorb those cuts, the school system increased maximum class sizes and eliminated more than 100 positions, including about 70 teaching positions, last year.
Those cuts saved the system about $2 million, Nagle said. Should legislators again raise class sizes, Nagle said, he likely will base his budget projections -- and teacher hires -- on those maximum levels.
"It's an employer's market," Wright said. "A few years ago, it was definitely a teachers' market."
RICHMOND COUNTY
Richmond County also has more applicants than available teaching jobs.
"As of today, we have a couple of open positions in math and science for certified classroom teachers," said Brenda Walden, the administrative assistant to the chief human resources officer for Richmond County schools. "While we average 85 applicants per month, not all applicants meet the qualification requirements."
At the end of the school year, positions often come open as teachers retire, resign or contracts aren't renewed, officials said.
In the previous two school years, 148 teaching positions became open at the end of the year, said school system spokesman Louis Svehla.
Richmond County officials say one of their biggest concerns is the number of teaching positions that depend on outside sources of funding, including federal stimulus money, which is scheduled to end in two years.
If not for Title 1 and stimulus funding, as many as 14 elementary and middle school teaching positions could have been on the chopping block this school year because of increased class sizes, according to a school system report.
Without outside funding, the system also could have lost 159 special-needs paraprofessionals, 54 regular education parapros on the elementary level and about 180 general teachers at all levels, the report says.
For now, though, the Richmond County school system is planning a teacher job fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 20 at Glenn Hills Middle School, 2941 Glenn Hills Drive.
AIKEN COUNTY
After a 50 percent drop in new hires throughout South Carolina last year, human resources directors aren't sure what they'll be able to offer new graduates next school year.
Last year, the state had 3,619 new hires, down from 7,159 the previous year, according to the Center for Educator Recruitment and Retention, housed at Winthrop University.
Only 1,180 of the new hires were new graduates.
Aiken County is compiling how many retirees will leave vacancies next year, said Joyce Stanley, the county's human resources director, but she doesn't know what the demand will be for next school year until the district begins budget discussions next month.
"We're typically going to have positions in our critical needs areas, like math, science and foreign language," she said.
Teachers with higher levels of certifications will have better odds of getting open positions, she said.
With additional budget cuts expected next year, Aiken County already has a competitive edge because it offers the highest first-year teacher's salary for a bachelor's degree in the state, about $33,000.
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I sure wish the Chronicle would include Lincoln County in this type of article.
they also need to consider the teachers that want to transfer to other schools
Austin, ( i meant InMyHumbleOpion), Why does a small school system like Lincoln County need to be included?
It appears that the Recession, which has already hit the private sector, has now hit the government agencies who depend on the private sector for revrenue. I sincerely hope that this recession ends soon before the President and Congress have to take a pay cut. That would be awfull, wouldn't it?
Oldenough, why the drama? Why shouldn't the AC include Lincoln as well as Burke and Warren counties in an article about teaching positions; this is the news organization for the CSRA, yes? For the record, I live closer to McDuffie County than to Augusta proper, and am interested in how they are faring in this time of budgetary constraints.