ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Businesses across the state are struggling to hire enough employees and that includes school districts. In June, Albuquerque Public Schools had 370 open teacher positions district-wide. According to the school district’s website, there are still 300 teaching positions spread out from middle school to high school levels.
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APS spokesperson Monica Armenta says that number is fluid. She also says some jobs are in the process of being filled.
Armenta also says they are currently where they should be for the start of the year. However, the teacher shortage is not anything new. School districts nationwide have been dealing with shortages for over a decade.
Armenta hopes if anything, the pandemic opens doors for more future educators. “People who perhaps never considered public education before may now look at it differently,” said Armenta.
This summer, APS has also been trying to fill other positions. They currently are still short for employees in food services, custodians and bus drivers. In total, the district has nearly 800 job postings online right now. Armenta says she’s confident they are good to go for their first day of school.
APS says they will continue to hire throughout the year as they always do. They say they usually go into the school year 300 to 400 positions short with Special Ed, math, science teachers and bus drivers being the hardest positions to fill.
