Here’s what happened at Beaufort County schools’ Bluffton job fair
Over 100 teachers, principals and administrators and potential hires showed up to school on a Saturday this weekend for a cause: Beaufort County School District’s annual career fair.
The fair, held at Bluffton High School and geared toward hiring classroom teachers, is the culmination of months of work, district talent acquisition specialist Jill McAden said.
75 pre-screened applicants — many of whom the district had already talked to at college job fairs, McAden said — were ushered to the high school gym, where they each participated in at least two interviews with district administrators.
“Depending on district needs and candidate strengths,” many signed contracts on the spot, she said.
Alexandria Britt, a fourth grade teacher at Whale Branch Elementary School who started in January under a letter of agreement, had barely exited the gym when McAden sat down with her in the school’s cafeteria to tell her she’d been awarded a contract.
“I came here originally for a change of scenery,” Britt said. “But the past few months have completely shifted my perspective. I love it.”
Shannon Baker-Kahahelis, a high school English and special education teacher, said she was looking forward to moving “away from the cold” in Massachusetts to teach here once her son graduates high school.
Baker-Kahahelis said she doesn’t know yet where she’ll be placed, but her “heart belongs to alternative schools.”
By 11:30, McAden said the district had awarded contracts to 34 teachers — and another wave of applicants was about to arrive.
Hiring and keeping teachers
While the district’s teacher attrition rate decreased last school year for the first time since 2014-15, it’s still above state average, according to a December report by Winthrop University’s Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement.
Of the 1,727 teaching positions the district budgeted for 2018-19, 264 teachers — a little over 15 percent — did not return for this school year, according to the district’s annual HR report. 230 resigned, 29 retired, three were terminated and two did not have a reason listed for their departure.
The district and school board are considering new incentives for teachers to stay. McAden and district human resources director Alice Walton presented three pay increase options to board members in December that could factor into the district’s budget for the 2020-21 school year:
Restoring a salary “step” for second-year teachers, providing a pay increase at all levels at a cost of $3.6 million;
Moving a salary cap for veteran teachers from 24 years of experience to 28, adding to potential pension payouts after retirement at a cost of $3.5 million;
Increasing a $5,000 annual “locality supplement” to $7,000, paid out in two installments per year at a cost of $5 million.
Payroll makes up about 75 percent of the district’s annual budget, and will be a focal point as the board gears up for their 2020-21 budget process.