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PGCPS: payroll fully staffed, but teacher vacancies and special-education shortages persist
Summary
District leaders told the Board of Education that the payroll office has returned to full staffing after recent vacancies, but educators and administrators said teacher shortages—particularly in special education and some early childhood classrooms—remain a pressing operational issue.
Prince George's County Public Schools told the Board of Education on Feb. 6 that the payroll office is fully staffed after a period of vacancies, but human resources and school-level speakers described continuing teacher shortages and unfilled special-education assignments.
Why it matters: payroll and human-resources capacity affect employee pay and retention; teacher vacancies affect classroom instruction and student services. Administrators said they are balancing recruitment travel and staffing investments with overall budget constraints.
Chief Financial Officer Lisa Howe and Payroll Director Delphita Waite said the payroll operation has been rebuilt after last year's staffing losses and that the office now has sufficient staff to handle inquiries for about 22,000 employees; the payroll office processes roughly 25,000 payroll checks each pay cycle, staff said. Waite said the office is training new staff and has reorganized to improve service.
Kristi Baldwin, chief human resources officer, described a division with roughly 180 employees and five departments: operations and staffing, professional learning and leadership, employee performance, equity/diversity/belonging, and employee/labor relations. Baldwin said the division is prioritizing recruitment for hard-to-fill positions, including special education, and noted that some recruitment costs were realigned internally rather than requested as new recurring funds.
At least one classroom-level speaker raised immediate service gaps. Michelle Clark, an early childhood special educator, told the board that three pre-K classrooms in her building currently have no special-education teacher and that the shortage is forcing staff to stretch services. Board members asked how budgeted but unfilled positions are handled; staff said dollars budgeted for vacant positions are often realigned to pay for substitutes, overtime or temporary staff to cover the needed work during the year.
Baldwin and administrators said recruitment includes non-local travel to college fairs and overseas programs and that recruitment budgets were adjusted to respond to a return to in-person recruiting. Board members asked whether current recruitment allocations are sufficient; Baldwin said the district tries to be efficient and to target expenditures to markets that yield candidates but acknowledged there is rarely 'enough' funding for recruitment.
Ending: Administration said it will continue to prioritize recruitment and retention strategies, provide updates on vacancy mitigation, and preserve classroom services when making budget decisions.
