69´«Ã½

School & District Management

What Superintendents Are Saying About Staff Shortages

By Denisa R. Superville — February 28, 2023 2 min read
Photo of newspaper classified.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

If you’re wondering why you’re not seeing as many headlines about staffing shortages in schools, it’s because things might have improved.

But at the start of this school year, shortages remained a major concern for district leaders.

That’s according to superintendents

The three most common areas of concern for district leaders?

  • Substitute teachers—78 percent reported moderate or considerable shortages;
  • Bus drivers—68 percent reported moderate to considerable shortages; and
  • Special educators—53 percent reported moderate to considerable shortages.

Superintendents in high-poverty school systems were more likely to report higher concerns over teacher shortages than their peers in low-poverty districts.

Other areas also drew concern. Forty-six percent of superintendents said there was a moderate to considerable shortage of paraprofessionals in their school districts.

Just 41 percent said they had moderate to considerable shortages of mental health staff. That percentage varied by district location and enrollment with 22 percent of district leaders in urban districts and 23 percent of those in rural school systems reporting considerable shortage of mental health staff, compared to 16 percent of suburban district leaders.

Concerns about shortages are easing

Superintendents reported being less concerned this year about staffing shortages than they had been in recent years, when illness from the pandemic resulted in large scale substitute-teacher shortages—because so many teachers were out sick—and districts faced an uphill challenge to find bus drivers.

There was a 25 percent drop in the share of superintendents who reported considerable shortage of substitute teachers. There was even a 12 percent drop among district leaders who considered the bus driver shortage to be considerable.

But RAND suggested that district leaders’ view of the overall staffing situation could have been affected by a general decline in teacher absences, which triggered the need for additional staff in many instances. Another possibility was that district leaders, helped by looser hiring requirements in some cases, found it easier to staff some positions than earlier in the pandemic.

Data that shows that district leaders perceive "considerable shortage" and "moderate shortage" in teaching positions like substitute teachers, special education. Bus drivers lead the perception of shortages among nonteaching staff according to Educator Turnover Has Markedly Increased, but Districts Have Taken Actions to Boost Teacher Ranks, RAND  Corporation, February, 2022.

Staff shortages vary by location and enrollment

Math, science, and elementary school classes continued to be particularly hard areas to staff in high-poverty districts, according to RAND.

Eighteen percent of district leaders in high-poverty districts, for example, reported considerable shortage for elementary school staff, while only 4 percent in more affluent districts said the same.

Suburban and rural districts reported more challenges with bus driver shortages than their peers in urban areas, where many students take local transportation to get to school.

The survey results came from RAND’s American School District Panel, a nationally-representative group of 1,148 district and charter management leaders that RAND polls on school issues. The survey was conducted between Oct. 13. and Dec. 22, 2022.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69´«Ã½
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School & District Management Reports Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress
This report highlights key findings from surveys of K-12 administrators and product/service providers to shed light on the alignment of purchasing with instructional goals.
School & District Management Download Shhhh!!! It's Underground Spirit Week, Don't Tell the 69´«Ã½
Try this fun twist on the Spirit Week tradition.
Illustration of shushing emoji.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How My Experience With Linda McMahon Can Help You Navigate the Trump Ed. Agenda
I have a lesson for district leaders from my (limited) interactions with Trump’s pick for ed. secretary, writes a former superintendent.
Joshua P. Starr
4 min read
Vector illustration of people walking on upward arrows, symbolizing growth, progress, and teamwork towards success.
iStock/Getty Images
School & District Management Opinion How Social-Emotional Learning Can Unify Your School Community: 7 Timely Tips
It’s a stressful political season. These SEL best practices can help school leaders weather the unpredictable transitions.
Maurice J. Elias
4 min read
Modern digital collage of caring leader surrounded by positivity. Social Emotional learning leadership.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva