WUSD officials consider sweeteners to encourage applicants
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Labor-related challenges have impacted the Whitewater Unified School District as officials are considering added incentives to hopefully increase the applicant pool for positions that have drawn few candidates.
Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty discussed with the School Board some of the challenges in hiring qualified, licensed applicants for specialized curricular areas, namely within the district’s English Language Learners, or ELL, program.
“It’s a nationwide issue,” School Board President Casey Judd said of the challenges public school districts across the U.S. are grappling with in filling positions.
At present, Pate-Hefty said there are four ELL vacancies – one at the high school, two at Lincoln Elementary School and one for the district’s virtual program for reading and math intervention.
During a presentation, Pate-Hefty and Business Manager Matthew Sylvester-Knudtson laid out one scenario that demonstrates the challenge in filling vacancies.
In the case of one previously posted ELL position, one applicant was contacted, but didn’t return the district’s calls for an interview. Two other applicants withdrew their names from consideration for various reasons and another applicant outright declined the offer after it was extended.
Applicants are required to hold multiple licenses, per Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction standards, including one meeting a bilingual certification and another to teach English as a second language.
The School Board gave Pate-Hefty the authority to include a $3,000 signing bonus to teachers filling some of the district’s most niche needs, namely in the ELL program.
The incentive does come with a number of caveats, including a stipulation applicants must fill the first two contract years of employment with WUSD or forfeit the $3,000 bonus.
ELL is one of multiple positions that have a smaller candidate pool, compared to more generalized instructional areas. The sign-on bonus could be extended to other positions as well, including special education.
