Siloam Springs district still has worker shortage

SILOAM SPRINGS — As the second half of the 2022-23 school year chugs along, district officials say they are still struggling to fill positions that are important for day-to-day operations within schools.

A shortage of bus drivers and food service workers was mentioned as early as last summer, and little progress has been made in filling those positions, district officials said.

On top of the need for food service workers and bus drivers, Shane Patrick, an assistant superintendent for the district, said there is a need for paraprofessionals.

“We have several paraprofessional positions that are open currently that we have a great need for. Those are positions that work directly with kids in support roles. Some of them could be for special education students and some of them could just be in the general classroom,” Patrick said.

He continued, saying, “When we have those open it creates a real hardship because we have to pull people from other areas to support the kids because that’s our first priority.”

Patrick said the worker shortages have been pretty steady for years now. “We have seen these grow in the last few years being more of an issue for us to fill since covid. During covid and since covid, we’ve had a harder time filling those positions than we did before.”

“The workforce kind of just disappeared during covid, and nobody has found it; nobody knows where those people are. Many districts nationwide are struggling to fill these same positions,” Patrick said.

In an attempt to address the worker shortage, the district has so far used its website, a social media campaign and mentioning the issue at School Board meetings, among other things.

“We’ve gone out and put the word out at every location we know. We’ve actually even sent out word to all of our parents that if there’s anyone out there that would be interested or if they know anyone that would be interested, to contact the district,” Patrick said.

He said the district has even considered using billboards.

“We’ve contemplated billboards and advertising. We just don’t know what other avenues are fiscally responsible for us,” he said.

Patrick said that he has spoken to leaders from districts who have used billboards, and many have not seen a return on investment.

“I’m hesitant to spend taxpayer dollars on something that doesn’t seem to be successful for others,” he said.

District leaders have firmly asserted that, no matter what situation, they will do everything in their power to keep things running as smoothly as possible, but convenience may be lost in the process.

“With bus drivers specifically, it would be a very last resort, but we might have to change up how we transport kids if it got to the point where we did not have enough people to do it,” Patrick said.

Patrick said other districts in the area have had to take more drastic approaches to the shortage of bus drivers and other workers and that the Siloam Springs district has been trying to avoid that.

“We want to make sure that we get all of our kids to and from school in the most convenient way possible for parents,” Patrick said. “If we have to do some of the things that other districts are having to do, it becomes super inconvenient for parents, and we don’t want to do that. Our parents have enough difficulty with their own jobs and family stuff.”

Patrick himself has been driving buses throughout the school year.

“I do it when I have to do it,” he said. “There are weeks where I might do it three or four times, there are weeks where I might not have to be called in to do it at all.

“I had hoped that I wouldn’t still have to do it at this point in the semester, but I also know what our numbers are, and if we have people get sick, it leaves openings,” Patrick said.

“We are very open to getting more applicants for these positions. We are constantly looking at applications and doing everything we can to fill these,” Patrick said.

Patrick continued, saying, “Serving kids, whether it be as a paraprofessional, a food service worker or bus driver, is a very rewarding job, and this school district is a very rewarding place to work.”