Package of bills hopes to help teacher shortage crisis

Harrisburg, PA — A true crisis in the classroom, fewer teachers are in schools right now and even less young people are interested in the profession. Today, lawmakers unveiled a package of bills hoping to encourage people to teach and make it a career.

“We have to be committed to investing in our students and their future and our workforce,” said Representative Patty Kim, (D) Harrisburg and Dauphin County.

With all of the disturbing statistics facing the teaching profession, one stands out. In just the past ten years, the amount of new teacher certifications statewide has dropped from 21,000 a year to under 7,000. Not enough people are willing to jump into the job. Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to right the wrong.

“It's getting harder and harder to get folks into the classroom and stay in the classroom long term,” said Camp Hill HS teacher Tim Crane.

For over a decade, Crane has been enriching the lives of Camp Hill High School students. But, attracting and retaining Crane’s colleagues is an epidemic in the industry.

“We are facing needs right now that are paramount. We don't have time to wait,” said Dr. Michael Robinson, Superintendent of East Pennsboro SD.

“We need to make bold steps to fix this systemic problem. Tweaks and band-aids will not work,” said Rep. Kim.

To help fix the issue, Representative Kim today unveiled a package of six bills, dubbed “Elevating Educators” to address issues like low salaries and high costs of education.

“People want to help, we just need to give them the means,” said Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, (D) York.

The means starts with a higher minimum salary. One piece of legislation would up the minimum starting salary to $50,000 a year now, eventually rising to $60,000 in four years. Loan forgiveness worth $40,000 a year, along with a scholarship program, that would give $8,000 a year to graduates of PASSHE schools who stay in PA to teach, is also being proposed.

“You can't invest in a student until you first invest in a teacher,” said Rep. Jordan Harris, (D) Majority Appropriations Committee Chairman.

On top of the financial part, new bills aim to develop mentoring programs for high turnover districts along with developing a pipeline of teachers to learn and eventually teach near home.

“This bipartisan legislation is a great step towards addressing this issue that is negatively impacting our children,” said Dr. Travis Waters, Chief Recovery Officer of the Harrisburg School District.

“There's no better job in the world when it's at its best,” Crane said.

Each piece of legislation needs to be introduced and assigned to committees before moving forward.

At this point, legislators are unable to put a price tag on the bills costs and where the money may come from to fund the ideas.

With the Governor’s budget address set for tomorrow, many are eagerly waiting to see the direction the Governor plans to take before really diving deep.