LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Clark County School District has reduced teacher vacancies entering the upcoming school year, attributing the change to investments made over the last several years.
Post pandemic, CCSD would begin the first day of classes with more than a thousand teacher vacancies. But when classes start in August, CCSD will have only 280 openings, according to the district.
“Our schools have not been fully staffed since 1994. That’s over 31 years ago. But today that dream is finally within reach,” RoAnn Triana, CCSD’s chief human resources officer, said on Thursday.
The nation’s fifth-largest school district was hosting a new teacher-hire event Thursday at the M Resort Spa Casino in Henderson.
Cheyenne High School was recognized for its dramatic turnaround.
“We are making Cheyenne High School a destination school,” Cheyenne’s Principal Anthony Nunez said.
Data shows CCSD teacher vacancies have steadily increased under Jara’s tenure
It’s been years of hard work for Nunez to get Cheyenne on the upward trajectory it’s currently riding. He’s entering his fourth year as principal.
Anthony Nunez, Cheyenne High School principal. (KLAS)
“It was very clear that there had been many initiatives, but no initiative fell under one vision or had been able to be consistently implemented just due to vacancies,” Nunez said.
The number of teacher openings has plagued Cheyenne, as it has other CCSD schools, especially those in North Las Vegas.
Data 8 News Now obtained showed in August 2023, Cheyenne began the new school year with 30 vacancies — the most of all high schools at the time. The following year, Cheyenne had 20 vacancies.
North Las Vegas schools have the most teacher vacancies this year
Nunez said despite adding new positions, nearly every teaching job is filled entering the first day of classes.
“In that first year, even though we increased the number of positions. I decreased the vacancy rate from 37% to 25%, so we hired a substantial number of teachers,” Nunez said.
CCSD shared a chart showing the number of vacancies since 2019.
Vacancies peaked at 1,367 in 2022, and there has been an 80% decrease as of July 21.
“Solving the long-term shortage will take all of us,” Triana said.
Nevada lawmakers can also take credit for the decrease in vacancies. They increased teacher salaries during the 2023 legislative session and made them permanent at this year’s session.
Educators who work in Title 1 schools, such as Cheyenne High School, also receive a bonus.
Students will be back in the classroom on Monday, Aug. 11.
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