With school year in the homestretch, Highland District 5 focused on staffing shortages

As the schools enter the homestretch of the school year, Highland School District 5 officials are focusing on staffing and construction.

Highland Superintendent Mike Sutton said staffing has been the primary focus.

“We have a number of staff retiring and moving on for difference reasons, including family decisions, advancements and personal decisions,” he said. “It has become a challenge, with shortages in a number of staffing areas.”

At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, the majority of U.S. schools began short-staffed for teachers as well as staff positions. Approximately 60 percent of principals reported struggling to fill non teaching positions and 48 percent said hiring teachers has been a challenge, according to Education Week.

The study reported in Education Week noted the biggest teaching shortages have been in special education, general elementary and bilingual education for teachers, with the fewest shortages in physical education, social studies and the physical sciences.

For non-teaching staff, transportation has had the most struggles, along with custodial staff and mental health professionals. The fewest shortages were in medical professionals and technology specialists.

Sutton said as of a few weeks ago, Highland was caught up with all certified positions filled for next year.

“Now we have three or four more openings, so that continues to be a work in progress,” he said.

Meanwhile, Highland’s district-wide construction program is moving forward. Sutton said the district has received bids for the middle school addition last week and are currently being evaluated by Korte Construction, the management company overseeing the $46 million multi-school renovation and expansion program.

Bids for construction of the new Highland Primary school will be going out in the next week, Sutton said. Those bids will be due at the beginning of May.

“Once those are received, we will be awarding bids for both projects and construction will begin soon after that,” he said.

The new primary school will be constructed near Poplar Street and Arkansas Road to serve pre-kindergarten through second grades with approximately 650 students and 70 staff members.

Voters approved the tax referendum early in 2022, intended to fund the new school and expand the middle school. Since then, the program has had some reductions and items offered as alternate bids to keep the cost down.