Teachers and administrators in West Michigan school districts say the national teacher shortage is effecting classrooms here, so much so that Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently calling for billions of dollars in funding for schools to help in her state budget.
It's estimated that up to 10,000 teachers a year are leaving their jobs in Michigan and only 5,000 are entering the field in their place, according to the Michigan Education Association. Recruiting teachers is a key focus for state legislators, the state department of education and local school districts.
"I believe that this Governor's budget, if approved, will help with both with respect to recruitment and retention," State Superintendent of Instruction Dr. Michael Rice says.
18.4 billion dollars in K-12 education funding is on the table, and Dr. Rice says state legislators need to pick it up.
"In order to address the teacher shortage, we have to address the underfunding," he says.
If passed, Governor Whitmer's budget would support higher pay for school staff and recruitment, as well as training of new teachers, among other things. Dr. Rice believes one of the major ways to reverse the teacher shortage is leading more people to the field.
"[Districts can] grow your own for support staff who want to become teachers, [and] for young people [like] middle school and high school students that want to become teachers," he says.
The Michigan Department of Education has proposed multiple recruitment initiatives, including scholarships for high schoolers, tuition reimbursement and loan repayment for current college students and those who've already graduated, and mentorship for new teachers.
There's also what's called a Reciprocity Bill in Lansing now, to make it easier to teach in Michigan if you're certified in another state.
"We get about 1,000 teachers a year from out of state," Dr. Rice says. "We think we can do better than that, if we have a lower barrier."
"I notice they have a lot of good things for people coming right out of college," Grand Rapids Public School District Teacher Carmen Dunbar says. "They have a lot of incentives and perks, but [for] the people that have been in the thick of this, there's really nothing in the plan that benefits us."
She says there needs to be more focus on keeping long-time teachers. Even after a recent three percent raise in the district, teachers are still leaving the field.
"It's all based on money, if [teachers] had more money, then they feel like they can do better and live a better life and not be stressed about things," she said.
That's where the Governor's budget comes in, with thousands of dollars in retention bonuses over the next four years.
"Compensation is absolutely an issue," Dr. Rice says. "There's no question."
Holland Public School teacher Sandra Valk believes that higher pay can encourage more young people to consider education.
"It's tough to make ends meet," she says. "We need to have more incentives and make it more friendly for people coming in, [for them] to not think ‘Ok, well I need to have two jobs.'"
But State Representative David LaGrand says finding people who want to be teachers also means respecting them first.
"We have to respect, honor and lift them up," he says. "If you pour contempt on a group, you're not going to find people wanting to join a group."
Thomas Morgan with the Michigan Education Association agrees, especially after heated debates on COVID-19 protocols in the classroom.
"We've seen so many legislative and political attacks, partisan rhetoric at school board meetings, it's out of control," he says. "Teachers and school support staff are at a breaking point... all of this together puts our children's future at risk."
At the end of the day, it's the kids who matter to both Dunbar and Valk, getting them the right resources for them in the classroom and getting paid what they deserve.
"I really don't know a teacher in this profession who doesn't want the best for kids," Valk says.
"You have to have a heart to be in this," Dunbar says. "That's why we stay. We stay because we love what we do. More money would help out everything, but we stay because we love these kids and love what we do, so we're just going to stick it out the best we can."
Dr. Rice is urging the state legislature to pass the Reciprocity bill to bring in out of state teachers to help. He also wants lawmakers to create a supplemental spending bill in the next month or so with the recruitment and retention efforts in the Governor's budget for local school districts to hire new teachers and get bonuses to veteran teachers.
The goal is to be ready by the next school year.
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