Oregon Fires Teachers Amid Severe Teacher Shortage
Bullying educators who don't support a Big Pharma agenda is a state-wide trend
Amid a shocking shortage of teachers in the state, a school board in Oregon has voted unanimously to fire three elementary school teachers, Fox News reports.
These three teachers, Kelly Lundy, Zachary Webb, and Mark Schulz, are being fired because they’ve refused the COVID-19 vaccines and are also unwilling to file religious exemption forms.
The Bend-La Pine School District school board voted 6 to 0 to let these teachers go.
Severe Teacher Shortage in the Pacific Northwest
At the same time, Oregon and Washington are facing severe teacher and staff shortages, according to the Seattle Times and Oregon Public Broadcasting. In fact, schools across both states are struggling to fill positions. Both public and private schools can’t find people willing to work, and they’re also having trouble retaining teachers, support staff, and even volunteers.
Not only is there a severe lack of teachers and high-level administrators, the Oregon public schools also have unmet needs for bus drivers, custodians, office workers, educational assistants, and community and parent classroom helpers.
Hundreds of Vacancies Across the State
Last month, according to OPB, the Vancouver Public Schools in Southwest Washington (just over the border from Portland, Oregon) announced they had a total of 175 vacancies. The Reynolds School District in Fairview, Oregon reported 131 openings; Portland Public School had 93 unfilled positions. This in a state of only four million inhabitants!
Ashland, Oregon, where we lived for nearly 20 years, put it bluntly. The school district said that they were “facing staffing shortages like we’ve never seen before.”
The Real Reason Teachers Are Leaving
At the same time, mainstream liberal media outlets are willfully ignoring the real reason so many teachers are fleeing both public and private education in these nanny states.
These media outlets contend it is because of low pay and lack of benefits. Really? My daughter’s kindergarten teacher made more money and had a better benefit packet than her husband who was a college professor. From what I’ve seen, starting salaries are high and benefit packages generous.
So what gives?
I’ve worked as a part-time educator in Oregon for nearly two decades. Over the years I’ve taught writing and literature classes and workshops in the public schools (at both the elementary- and middle-school level), one private school, and two homeschool cooperatives. I can tell you the real reason for the shortage of teachers in the Pacific Northwest.
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