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Teachers and unions press for automatic job postings and faster hiring to fill vacancies
Summary
Educators and union representatives urged the committee to require automatic posting and faster filling of state and CTE vacancies (HB 7047), citing long delays that leave classrooms and training programs understaffed and negatively affect students.
Teachers, vocational educators and union representatives urged the committee to adopt HB 7047 and related measures to shorten the time between a vacancy and a filled position.
Paul Angelusi, president of trade‑school teachers and a former plumbing/heating teacher, testified he supports HB 7047 and urged adding language to require timely filling as well as automatic posting. "When these positions come open due to illness or retirement, sort of last minute, the vacancy in the shop is detrimental to the kids," Angelusi said, adding that extended vacancies leave students without skilled instruction.
Mackenzie Hurtado, vice president of the State Vocational Federation of Teachers, described arriving midyear to teach a class that had been without a math teacher for five months and said vacancies can persist for months because positions are not posted or processed until after employees depart. "This problem does not just affect our students without a teacher. It burdens other teachers who are stretched thin," Hurtado said.
Logan Place, an attorney and co‑coordinator with the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (CBAC), testified in support of HB 7047 and said the bill should be strengthened to require not only posting but also reasonable time frames to fill positions once posted. "Delays in the hiring process means positions remain vacant longer. This results in reduced services for the public and more stressful and often more dangerous working conditions for state employees who are working understaffed," Place said.
Place and other witnesses urged the committee to pursue follow‑up meetings with the Department of Administrative Services and CBAC to refine language and address causes of delay in approvals, background checks and onboarding. Committee members said they expect to continue discussions and asked stakeholders to provide specific proposals for reasonable timelines to fill posted positions.
