District human resources staff told the Board of Education the district faces ongoing staffing challenges, including about 50 teaching-assistant vacancies and persistent difficulties hiring staff of color to better reflect the student population.

A staff presenter reported that roughly 8-10% of budgeted full-time equivalent positions are vacant at a given time and that teaching assistants are the most acute shortage: approximately 50 TA vacancies, including about 40 special-education TAs and 10 general-education TAs, representing about 25% of budgeted TA FTEs. The presenter said these numbers fluctuate during the first months of school as staff onboard and some new hires leave.

Human resources said the office has begun issuing fingerprinting coupon codes to reduce the cost of background checks for applicants and is exploring additional funding to expand that assistance. The presenter credited Assistant Superintendent Jasmine Brown for securing some of the funding.

The HR presentation included demographic trends: staff are still predominantly white while the student population is more diverse; about 30% of teachers are over age 50, which may increase retirements in coming years. The district said it will post a recruiting-and-retention position soon to build pipelines with colleges, coordinate job fairs and manage broader outreach.

The district also reported that more than half of applicants come through Indeed via the Schoolfront posting system; friends, family and community referrals are another significant applicant source. HR said it plans targeted job fairs next week to recruit substitutes, teaching assistants and hall monitors and will consider additional spring job fairs in consultation with a new recruiting hire.

Board members asked for clearer reporting on hiring and for more work on retention and pathways that let teaching assistants progress to teacher certification.

The human resources update was presented as part of the meeting's administrative reports and included requests to return with more detailed plans and, where appropriate, proposed actions.