Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Jinyoung Chun, left, an employee with a biotech company, sits outside to enjoy the sun and fill out school applications. Chun intends to make a career change and work in elementary school special education in Cupertino.

Dire Straits

Recent teacher fair reflects scramble for qualified teachers in CUSD and FUHSD

By KEVIN FAYLE

All around the County Office of Education on March 10, prospective teachers hopped from booth to booth, listening to representatives of school districts from across Santa Clara County tout their districts and pitch their starting salaries and benefits packages to try and bring the teachers to their schools.

The applicants and administrators came together on a sunny Saturday to begin the process of determining next year's teacher lineup. The prospective teachers gathered information while the districts gathered applications, with many conducting interviews and subsequently offering contracts on the spot.

Participants on both sides of the matter agreed that the 14th annual County Teacher Recruitment Fair went down without a hitch. There was only one problem, not enough teachers.

Administrators from the school districts admitted the fair didn't have the same level of hustle and bustle as recent years' events, but also pointed out that the quality of the applicants has remained the same.

Steven Woo, the principal of De Vargas School in the Cupertino Union School District, says the traffic coming by the district's booth was "a little light, but steady." Andy Mortensen, assistant superintendent for the district, admits the pool of teachers has thinned out a bit, but remarks that "the caliber was very strong."

Even so, no one could ignore the marked drop in the number of prospective teachers. District board of education member, Pearl Cheng, also noticed the smaller turnout, and called it "a reflection of our local economy." Representatives from CUSD and Fremont Union High School District echoed her statement, and suggested the high-tech industry has coaxed many away from their pursuit of a teaching career with higher salaries than school districts can offer. "Participation in teaching programs is down all over," says Virgil Pate, assistant principal at Homestead High School.

"In many respects, it's a seller's market," he says. Teachers can pick and choose from any district they want, as the districts in the county scramble to entice qualified educators. The diminishing supply of teachers has caused most districts to raise their base salaries, and offer more benefits to bring teachers into the fold. The demand for teachers only increases as young families with children move into the area, and, as the cost of living continues to rise, districts must offer more in order to recruit and retain qualified educators.

"It continues to be more and more of a challenge," Mortensen says. The Cupertino Union district plans to look throughout California for good teachers, as well as extending their search to other states. According to Mortensen, the district currently has plans to recruit potential teachers in New York.

Both of Cupertino's school districts have recently increased their teachers' salaries, but representatives admit that they must still go further to bring in the kind of teacher that the community demands. Even with the increases, districts must offer good benefits packages and support networks to catch the eye of teachers wary of the high cost of living in the area.

According to Mortensen, the benefits the district offers act as both a blessing and a curse, since the district's retirement package often encourages teachers to leave, increasing the need for more qualified instructors. Teachers with a bachelor's degree and 30 hours of additional training units begin their first year at CUSD with a salary of $41,077. If the teacher has a master's degree, they earn $1,171 in salary bonuses each year.

Teachers with similar credentials at FUHSD begin with a salary of $38,000. Fremont Union, because they receive their funding primarily from local property taxes, did not benefit greatly from the recent infusion of money most districts received from the state. So, while other districts have raised their teachers' salaries by 12 percent to 16 percent, Fremont has only had the means to offer their teachers a 6 percent increase.

According to Harry Bettencourt from the district's human resources department, the district has taken to emphasizing the finer aspects of the district itself, such as the talented student body and dedicated staff, as a means to attract new teachers away from other districts' promise of more money. "Most teachers who are very good receive multiple offers," he says.

Bettencourt longs for days past, when the districts had few jobs to offer to a much larger pool of applicants. Now, he says, the district faces some large hurdles to overcome when recruiting.

Many of the hurdles have to do with external factors, such as the cost of living. Many young people who might consider a career in education will turn to a better-paying job when faced with Silicon Valley living expenses. Bettencourt says Fremont often loses teachers to areas experiencing rapid growth, where they can afford to buy homes. He can't blame them for leaving, he says, but the astronomical cost of housing puts the district in a bind. Because of this, he offers his thanks those organizations worked with the district to find solutions.

Several organizations, as well as the city of Cupertino, have put their efforts toward lessening the impact of Silicon Valley's high housing costs, and Cupertino businesses have offered discounts to teachers to let them know that the community appreciates their presence.

The city of Cupertino runs a below-market-rate housing program for school district, as well as city and county employees. Under the terms of that program, if a teacher has lived in Cupertino for a while and teaches at a school within the city limits, then he/she receive top priority in considerations for the housing. Teachers who do not already live in Cupertino, or who do not teach in the city, may also apply for the assistance, but they do not receive such high priority.

The city also has proposals from the school districts for a teacher mortgage assistance fund under consideration. The money for the fund would come from the city's redevelopment coffers, but so far, the city has not decided whether or not to implement the program.

Cupertino also partners with the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-County Apartment Association on the Move In For Less program. Apartment complexes agree to waive some of the move-in fees for teachers who wish to begin renting in the city.

Businesses in Cupertino have also extended a helping hand to teachers. Participants in the Chamber's Business Education Link offer discounts to teachers and district staff when they show proof of employment with the district. Teachers and staff can get discounts on goods and services ranging from auto care to home decorations, if they shop at a participating business.

"It's really a statement that the community is trying to make, acknowledging the value of the teachers and the quality of the schools that the people have enjoyed for so long," says Jeannie Bradford, the Link's chairwoman.

Despite the low turnout for the fair, and the other problems the districts face, those who attended the fair labeled it a success.

Mortensen reports that Cupertino Union offered 18 contracts that day, and Bettencourt says that, while Fremont does not offer contracts at the fair, "we collected a lot of applications." However, with hundreds of teaching slots to fill before the next school year, the districts still have a long way to go.

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