Eye On Illinois: Share strategies for addressing staffing shortages

Scalable solutions.

That term sounds like the kind of phrase thrown around when corporate hires a consultant for an efficiency analysis, but it has a governmental application. If a fix works for one department, maybe it can be used elsewhere.

The thought surfaced Monday when skimming through the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools’ annual study on teacher shortages (iarss.org/2022-educator-shortage). Some of the numbers, though increasingly familiar, remain stark: 79% of districts have a shortage, 93% of those say the problem is as bad or worse as the prior year, 92% can’t get enough substitutes and so on.

Last April, Gov. JB Pritzker said Illinois schools had more than 2,100 unfilled positions. But the problem isn’t unique to schools. In June 2021, the Department of Natural Resources told lawmakers it had 1,170 employees but needed 2,500. In March 2022 the Department of Children and Family Services vacancy rate was 21%. In May, a law enforcement survey found 60% of 239 Illinois agencies were understaffed, not including the Chicago Police Department.

Clearly those four have many distinctions. But there are some similarities worth considering. While conservation and human services workers broadly fall under the umbrella of state agencies, police officers and teachers generally are hired locally. That means districts and communities offer competing salaries, benefits, titles and responsibilities.

The 79% of school districts with a shortage can see what the other 21% offer. That they’re not matching is likely more “can’t” than “won’t.” In some cases, the challenges perfectly align with DNR and DCFS: where is the job located? A DeKalb native might feel called to work near St. Louis in any of these fields, but that can mean leaving a support system.

That dilemma often is true for people just out of college. A fresh teaching degree and a spot in your childhood bedroom is serious help when taking a different sub gig each morning in hopes of eventually landing a full-time placement. Partners and kids enhance the complexity.

The IARSS study offers policy recommendations that apply outside education: address the cost of learning to do the work and earn certification, improve early career support so people don’t leave the profession and emphasize specialties within the field. Common sense, sure, but the problem persists.

Ultimately it all comes back to money, so the governments’ job is wisely leveraging resources. Perhaps increasing salaries isn’t as impactful as addressing student loans or tuition and fees. Maybe we need stronger classroom-to-job pipelines.

Lawmakers are not passive observers, having invested heavily in education and police recruitment. But staffing shortages undercut service delivery goals, making it a key priority during upcoming budgeting – across many agencies.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.