NYC Teacher Numbers Falling
Joseph Spector, in the Democrat and Chronicle, reports:
New York has nearly 13,000 fewer educators than it did five years ago, while the number of retirees continues to swell, state records show.
“The baby-boomer generation is retiring across every segment of our society, and teachers and educators are among those,” said Michael Borges, the executive director of the state Association of School Business Officials. “And that has led to shortages in teachers and other educational professionals.”
The pace of retiring teachers, he goes on to explain, has soared by 8% (11,600 retirees), while the number of active school staff has fallen by 4.5% in the last couple of years. This puts a big strain on the system to fill teaching positions.
So, we are facing a teacher shortage.
And while the number of active teachers has fallen for the past 8 years, the city has a bigger problem looming — about 20% of teachers are 49-56. This means, the city is headed for another retiree surge. As the baby boomers leave the system, the city will have to fill their spots. The teacher shortage is about to get much worse.
Problems Filling Teacher Positions?
Schools are worried about the city’s budget battle this year, as they look to fill these open spots. Gov. Cuomo has proposed a $1 billion increase to schools, but the tax-cap issue remains daunting:
“With the prospect of a near-zero tax cap and school aid that doesn’t fully make up the difference, I hear from superintendents: They are worried they may have to eliminate some of the positions they were finally able to restore,” said Robert Lowry, deputy director of the state Council of School Superintendents.
The state’s pension system is also a strain on the schools.
Read more about the numbers here
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