CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott created the Teacher Vacancy Task Force in March 2022 in an effort to address staffing shortages in school districts across the state.
With the release of the task force's final report this month, its findings address compensation, working conditions, and training and support for educators.
South Texas is represented in the task force by Corpus Christi Independent School District Superintendent Roland Hernandez and Harold C. Kaffie Middle School science teacher Cynthia Hopkins.
Recently retired Kenedy ISD Superintendent Diana Barrera Ugarte also assisted.
The task force broke into groups to find the root of the problem: What's causing teachers to leave, and how more can be brought in to fill the void.
State Representative Todd Hunter said the last few years have been a challenge for the education field. CCISD's participation in the Teacher Vacancy Task Force is something he said will help make the profession for South Texans better to work in.
"My mother's a retired teacher and so you, anybody should know that teaching is important. But we need to be positive, constructive and we need to create an environment that works," Hunter said.
The task force includes 46 members, which comprise of 23 teachers and 23 administrators from across the state.
"This task force started this conversation, and the conversation continues in that our state legislature will look at some of the things that we asked for," Hopkins said.
Hopkins told 3NEWS that the task force asked for a raise for all teachers statewide, more opportunities for paraprofessionals, an increase in social workers in classrooms, and more -- all explained in the final report.
A potential solution to teacher shortages is currently being tested in Olfen ISD. Maria Garza is a retired teacher from multiple South Texas school districts. She's now teaching a science class remotely from her home in Ben Bolt -- working with a facilitator in a classroom five hours away.
“I’m kind of coaching her on how to teach and, which is what I did in Premont, and it has helped her," Garza said. "I worked with her the past two weeks and this coming week she’s going to be taking over the class.”
Garza said she will continue to help the facilitator teach the class until the end of the school year. She now serves on the Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco ISD school board after teaching in the district for 23 years.
Garza said that staffing issues have been present in her district, and now, she can view the issue from an administrative role.
"School districts, we are shorthanded," Garza said. "So, who's going to teach teachers how to teach? When you're in college, you go through it but it's not the same as being in the classroom."
Garza told 3NEWS that a school district superintendent told her she's considering starting a company to hire retired teachers to help coach new ones -- just as she is now.
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