Turnover among teachers in School District 55 is lower this year than in the last half dozen for several reasons.
Over the past five or six years, turnover among teachers has been running in the high 20s and low 30s. This year, the district is filling 19 vacancies, including two administrative positions. Six of those positions were vacant because of retirements.
Retiring are Supt. Bill Hampton; SHHS Assistant Principal Larry Johnson; Judy Peterson, second grade at Hawthorne; Bruce Flory, fifth and sixth grade at Holley; Shari Green, fourth grade at Oak Heights; and Sharon Gilbert, language arts at SHHS.
The reduction in turnover is partially attributable to budget cuts.
Across Oregon, districts have been cutting positions in the last couple of years, Supt. Hampton said. That coupled with an increase in the number of new teachers has helped eliminate a shortage among teachers in Oregon.
At the same time, elementary enrollment has been decreasing across the state Supt. Hampton said. Teachers with three to four years of experience are generally the most marketable right now with their experience and willingness to move, but teachers new to districts are low on seniority lists and most vulnerable to cuts.
Smaller districts, like Sweet Home, still must deal with hiring new teachers who move on after getting some experience.
Working in Sweet Home, a teacher may have to drive to Albany or Corvallis to be socially active.
“I think each community attracts a certain type of teacher,” Supt. Hampton said, but many districts serve as a stepping to stone to larger districts.
In recent years, high retirement levels with favorable conditions for the Public Employees Retirement System helped contribute to turnover as well.
Some people are still saying they’re going to take advantage of it while they still can, Supt. Hampton said.
Sweet Home cut some 11 teaching positions last year, helping cut the turnover locally. Teachers in those positions were all hired back but one who chose not to accept a position.
That, along with cuts in Albany, Corvallis and the surrounding areas, has probably created a glut of some 50 teachers, Supt. Hampton said.
Overall, more teachers are available than in the past, and districts have fewer positions, Supt. Hampton said. In hiring, the district is receiving more applications for most positions this year, although special education, science and math are still somewhat short.
Art and music teachers are more available as districts cut those programs.
The poor condition of Oregon’s economy is mixed into the equation as well.
Now is a good time to buy a house and a tough time to sell a house, Supt. Hampton said. Some teachers, at this time. may be happy “just to have a job, be able to have a house and raise a family.
Moving somewhere else is tight right now, then when a teacher gets there, the teacher is “low man on the totem pole,” Supt. Hampton said.
The teachers’ labor market is set against a backdrop of still more anticipated cuts.
“I think Oregon is well publicized as facing a huge general fund shortfall,” Supt. Hampton said. This summer, the legislature may face a shortfall in projected revenues of up to a billion dollars. Every district is facing cuts under that condition.
Next biennium, 2003-05, money will be a big issue as well, Supt. Hampton said. On top of that, districts will begin paying higher PERS rates beginning in July 2003. In District 55, that could mean up to $350,000.
“I think districts are facing huge issues, and I don’t see how they’re going to do it without program or staff cuts,” Supt. Hampton said. “I think next year’s a real challenge for all school districts in Oregon.”
School District 55 employs 126.1 licensed staff, including teachers and administrators.