Salinas Union High School District calls for applicants to fill more than 200 jobs in education

Community members were up bright and early Saturday morning, despite the cold and drizzle, to attend the Salinas Union High School District job fair.

Roughly 100 job seekers showed up to the job fair, and more than half of them walked out with a job offer.

Many were recent college graduates.

Mayte Alonzo Ruelas was all smiles and cheered as she walked out of the district, with a potential job lead.

“It can be a bit intimidating for new graduates because we’re still kind of getting out of the pandemic. We think, ‘are people going to take us seriously?’ because we had to do online education,” Ruelas said. “I was actually surprised that I was told I’m actually overqualified for some of the positions here.”

The district is hiring teachers and classified staff.

Among the applicants were also current district employees wanting to explore different pathways.

“I’m already an employee for the district but I want to expand my career. I want to be a typist clerk,” Giovana Palacio said. “Something like this really helps because a lot of people don’t know how much schools actually look for new workers.”

Staff members from the district’s high schools and middle schools were there to help individuals through the application process.

Job seekers received informational flyers, school regalia, and even a breakfast of coffee and burritos to get them through the morning.

Laptops were also provided for individuals to fill out job applications on site, while those who scored interviews were able to do them on the spot.

“Right now, the biggest concern is the unknown, coming out of COVID, and not knowing what’s entailed for teaching now that technology is at the forefront,” Harden Middle School assistant principal Ray Santa Ana said. “We’re here to support them. The ones we can get, we’re excited to have.”

SUHSD Assistant Superintendent Hector Galicia said the district hopes to do its part in addressing the shortage of educators seen throughout the state and the nation.

Roughly 44% of public schools have reported having full- or part-time teaching vacancies, according to the National Center for Education statistics. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to these staffing shortages.

“Public schools report they are struggling with a variety of staffing issues, including widespread vacancies, and a lack of prospective teachers. These issues are disrupting school operations," NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said. "Schools have resorted to using more teachers as well as non-teaching staff outside of their intended duties, increasing class sizes, sharing teachers and staff with other schools, and curtailing student transportation due to staff shortages.”

Galicia says there are about 175 classified positions, and between 25 and 35 teacher positions that need to be filled at SUHSD.

“We have a desperate need for professionals, like math, science and special education teachers,” he said. “We do have a two-year signing bonus for preliminary and fully credentialed teachers of up to $15,000.”

District officials say they are hoping to host another job fair sometime in November.

Job seekers can also apply online at https://www.applitrack.com/salinasuhsd/onlineapp/

This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: SUHSD hiring teachers, bus drivers and nutritional services