The Washoe County School District is continuing to see some significant labor shortages. At their board meeting Tuesday night, they discussed how the shortage is impacting areas such as transportation, nutrition services, special education and custodial & housekeeping jobs.
The vacancies and salaries for each are listed below:
- Transportation: 87 Driver vacancies & a starting salary of $14.53
- Custodial & Housekeeping: 59 vacancies & a starting salary of $12.70
- Nutrition Services: 86 Driver vacancies & a starting salary of $12.46
- Special Education Aides & Assistance: 191 vacancies & a starting salary of $10.71
They also approved for the Facilities Management Department to reduce vacuuming to once per week for all schools effective for the 2022-2023 school year.
The board also directed the Superintendent to work with the Washoe Education Support Professionals to reach an agreement regarding implementation of a Critical Shortage Compensation Adjustment process in the areas of Transportation, Nutrition Services, Special Education Aides & Assistants, Housekeeping and other possible support staff areas.
Emily Ellison, the Chief Human Resources Officer for the WCSD says "We know that things have gotten more complex with the pandemic, and so not only is the work more complicated but there's fewer people doing it, so that absolutely has an impact."
They also discussed the recent transportation loss and how it's been effecting attendance at schools. They moved to use a 5 day per week "Hub System" for the middle school and high school students for the 2022-2023 school year. They also moved to go forward to review routing optimization, elementary school reduction in bus stops, utilization of combo positions, scheduled double runs, weighted area rotation based on attendance, school bell time changes and walk zone changes.
