Mustang reaching crises level for Special Education Teachers

By Jacob Sturm
[email protected]

Mustang Public Schools will be facing a challenge to fill teacher openings as the school year
approaches in the next few weeks.

The issue was discussed during the district’s board of education meeting in July, where
Executive Director of Human Resources Chris Tobler shared the district has 15 teacher openings district-wide and 10 of those reside in the field of special education as of July 15.

“There’s a belief in the state of Oklahoma among my Human Resources consortium that we’re no less than 650 special education teachers short state-wide,” Tobler said. “I think it’s more than that, but there is simply not enough supply to meet the demand.”

“…At this point, I believe the five general education openings we have will be filled, but the
special education situation is an issue,” Tobler said.

Tobler said one of the state’s two major universities graduated two special education teachers
in May. That university has approximately 25,000 students.

“It’s crises mode in that area certainly, and we’re feeling it certainly this year,” Tobler said.

He said the vacancies are concerning, but said similar districts like Jenks, Union and Broken
Arrow are seeing similar numbers. He also mentioned other districts are seeing even more
severe circumstances.

Tobler told board members of a state report that showed 25,000 Oklahomans have a teaching
license and do not teach. He referred to that as a different issue, and said he believes the
profession is making ground in terms of salary statewide through the legislature meant to help.

Tobler said he thinks the district, to some degree, had avoided the severity of the predicament, but went on to say the issue has become ‘very real’ this year nonetheless.

So, what is the district doing to counter this reality?

“We’re going to do what we’ve always done in Mustang,” Tobler said. “We’re going to find a
way to meet the need of each individual child and just make it work, and do whatever we have
to do to put students first. That’s the Mustang way. That’s what we’re going to do, but it’s
certainly getting more challenging.”

Tobler mentioned the special education openings have federal and state laws that govern those positions and the students in their care. He said that means someone else is going to have to pick up the slack, meaning added caseloads for those teachers working with those students.

There is also a need for Bus Drivers, Paraprofessionals and Child Nutrition Workers in the
district.

Board members asked questions during the discussion regarding what they can do for the
situation to be solved. The district can offer incentives, including special stipends for those
working with more challenging students in the district.

The problem is simply a lack of people looking to enter the field.

“Really, again, it’s just supply and demand,” Tobler said. “They’re just not there. And there are districts that have offered all kinds of incentives to no avail just because they’re not there. So, all we can do is hope that our trajectory is getting more positive, and I believe it is. It’s just going to take some time for us to see, through the University system and other ways, more people wanting to be a teacher.”

Mustang works with colleges and universities through career fairs and more to encourage
students to pursue those certifications.

Superintendent Charles Bradley also offered information to the board on the topic of special
education teachers pay, saying those teachers are being offered an additional percentage of
money for those meeting experience thresholds to incentivize stability in the field.