Wanted: Teachers needed for ND schools

Governor Doug Burgum will use his emergency rulemaking authority to address North Dakota’s teacher shortage.

With another school year looming the governor will temporarily allow expanded use of student teachers to help address the issue.

The request for the emergency declaration came from the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board. In his letter to the board Burgum noted it was a Band-Aide and not a permanent solution.

Grand Forks school officials say they still have a few teaching positions to fill but are doing better than many other districts. H-R Director Griffin Gillespie says the new hires include 95 certified staff and around 60 classified employees.  “We have 22 international teachers as of right now that we expect to start this school year.  That’s on top of the 15 we hired last year.” Gillespie says the district still has a large number of para positions to fill.

Governor Burgum has also announced the formation of a task force to address challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers.