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Superintendent reports staff vacancies, says district is aggressively recruiting
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Bedell told the board that the district continues active recruitment to fill teacher, assistant and other operational vacancies and described recent reductions in non‑English parent‑portal access through bilingual outreach work.
Superintendent Dr. Bedell updated the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County on staffing and recruitment efforts at the March 5 meeting, saying district leaders are working “aggressively” to fill vacancies across several categories while also highlighting recent gains in family outreach.
Dr. Bedell said recent efforts by bilingual facilitators and international family outreach staff have reduced the number of families for whom English is not a first language accessing the parent portal, calling the work “a huge positive impact.” He recognized Karen McDonald, manager of international family outreach programs, and several staff members for the outreach work and community honors they and others received.
On staffing numbers, Dr. Bedell stated that “our teacher vacancy rate was at 55” and that “teacher assistance was at 50,” and he listed other workforce areas with smaller counts for vacancies. The transcript does not specify whether those figures are counts or percentages; board discussion treated the numbers as counts reported by central office. Dr. Bedell said bus driver vacancies for internal (not vendor) positions were reported as 4, food services vacancies had been reduced through an incentive program, and custodial and crossing guard vacancies were being addressed.
Nut graf: The superintendent framed recruitment and retention as active priorities. He credited human resources and outreach staff for progress in translation and family engagement and told the board staff would continue recruitment work and report results.
Board members asked for and received clarifying remarks from Human Resources staff about contracting for special education positions; Jessica Cutches, identified as chief human resources officer, told the board contracting is used only as an exception when internal hires cannot be made to prevent gaps in federally and state‑mandated services.
Ending: Dr. Bedell closed by thanking HR for ongoing work and by saying staff will continue recruiting to reduce vacancies and stabilize operations for the upcoming school year.
