Richmond County schools work to staff up for new year

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - While some school districts in the CSRA are already starting the school year, some are still preparing.

Only two weeks away from the start of its school year, the Richmond County School System is still looking to fill vacant positions.

In May, News 12 reported the district was trying to fill more than 130 vacant positions for teachers.

According to the Georgia Department of Education, 44% of teachers quit within their first five years in the profession.

Often when there are vacancies that can’t be met, other staff like substitutes and paraprofessionals have to fill in the gaps for those classes.

And Kelly Education on Monday hosted a hiring event for just those positions as well as food-service workers.

Looking at the last school year, we found the district spent millions using substitutes in the classroom this school year — $4.2 million to be exact.

For now, the clock is ticking ahead of the Aug. 5 start date for elementary students and Aug. 6 start date for others.

“I believe I can make a difference,” Ingrid Scurry said.

She says the job opportunity is more than just filling in for the teacher.

“My daughter graduated from Laney High School. I’ve been a volunteer with the JROTC program, enjoying being around the kids, and just want to help the school system out,” she said.

Scurry says she hopes she can be a mentor to as many kids as possible. She says she already has her foot in the door with the kids.

“I earned the nickname “Ma Ing” from the kids at Laney. I just want to be able to have that smile for them. If I see them doing something, where I know they can do better.. kind of like that motherly figure,” Scurry said.

Scurry and others are looking to fill the gaps in the classroom.

Terrence Vick is the manager at Kelly Education. He said, “Last year, we hired over 900 substitutes for the school systems in Augusta, Georgia. We’ve been able to close that loop for the teacher needs here. This year, our goal is to reach even higher.”

The district still has around 90 open or pending applications on its website for certified teachers. They also need another 20 bus drivers.

But despite that, the routes are covered for the first day of school.

Scurry hopes to be there and help fill some of those holes.

“Sometimes they need a mentor. Someone to be able to encourage them and show them that there’s a better way of doing things,” she said.

There’s another hiring event on July 31 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Board of Education building downtown.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.