Teacher resignations drop in OPS, other districts after retention efforts like higher pay (2024)

Higher pay, free college tuition and better communication have slowed the recent pace of educator departures from Nebraska schools, although staffing still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.

For example, the Omaha Public Schools reported in May that 270 certified staff — teachers, administrators and specialists — either resigned or retired during the 2023-24 school year. Two years earlier, OPS had 730 staff departures.

“The numbers are a pleasant surprise for us,” said Charles Wakefield, chief of operations for OPS. “But we want to be careful that we’re not celebrating too quickly. We still have a nationwide teacher shortage, we still have gaps from previous years that we’re still trying to fill. This is a good sign for us. But this isn’t the solution to our problem.”

Almost all Omaha-area school districts have reported that fewer certified staff members are leaving their jobs. Nearly 1,400 teachers left metro-area districts in the 2021-22 school year, followed by an additional 1,200 last year. This spring, the number of departures has fallen to roughly 800 — the lowest number of resignations and retirements seen in the metro since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of the pandemic, some teachers left for the normal variety of personal reasons, which happens every year. But the numbers spiked with teachers who exited their districts — or the education field entirely — because of conditions such as overflowing class sizes, rising student misbehavior, staff absences, low pay and soured relationships between district leaders and employees.

Those issues contributed significantly to Nebraska’s broader teacher shortage, according to most recent data from the Nebraska Department of Education. A December survey found that the 2023-24 school year started with more than 900 unfilled teaching positions across the state, up from 769 the previous year.

The educator shortage had already been rising before the pandemic. A decade ago, the state reported 121 unfilled positions; by 2019, the total was 302. Unfilled positions have more than tripled since then, and roughly one in four of them are in special education.

“We’ve always kind of been on the cusp of, ‘Gosh, we have a shortage in special educators.’ Now, it’s way past that for every area, but special education is one of the top areas in the state that we have a shortage,” said Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, in a previous interview with The World-Herald. “And folks are, you know, not going into education, which has exacerbated the problem overall.”

School districts and state government have responded with various initiatives to address educator shortages, an issue that exists nationwide. Some strategies included staff stipends, student teacher pay and free tuition for paraprofessionals to become certified teachers.

In OPS, teacher union officials say the latest numbers suggest those efforts are paying off.

Kathy Poehling, president of the Omaha Education Association, said the union was expecting 400 to 500 resignations this year — a modest improvement in staff retention from last year’s 586 departures. An OPS report last year said the district’s workforce included nearly 4,200 teachers, principals, supervisors and classroom support staff, not including paraprofessionals and other support workers.

Poehling was surprised to learn that the 2023-24 departures were cut in half from the previous school year, and said she believes a change in district leadership had a huge impact.

“I think that teachers are hopeful — more hopeful than they have been in the past — with Matt taking the reins,” Poehling said. “That made a huge difference, because you’re talking about a person who already knows the district. He knows a lot of people. And I think it gave some of the teachers back some hope that things will move in the right direction.”

Poehling said the union has been more involved in district decisions since Ray moved into his interim role last summer.

“They have been including teacher voice in most of the committees that they’re putting together, especially when they’re looking at making really important decisions,” Poehling said.

OPS also has boosted compensation for certified staff over the last year and a half.

The latest employee contract between the district and teachers union will increase the district’s base salary by nearly $7,200 over the length of the agreement. In January, paraprofessionals and special education teachers received an increase in extra duty and substitute pay. In May, the school board approved more compensation for specialized and veteran teachers, amounting to an additional $34.8 million.

Like some other suburban districts, Papillion La Vista Community Schools offered $3,000 stipends for staff who stayed in the district for the 2023-24 school year. Melissa Hansen, vice president of the Papillion La Vista Education Association, said the extra compensation plus open communication helped bring down resignation numbers.

In the Omaha metro area, OPS, Papillion, Millard, Elkhorn and Bellevue accounted for most of the reduction in resignation numbers this year from the prior school year. Springfield Platteview Community Schools was the only metro district that reported an increase, from 10 resignations and retirements last year to 13 this year. Douglas County West Community Schools could not be reached before this article was published.

In Papillion, Hansen said past recruitment initiatives also helped keep staff in the district this year.

The district also ensured that student teachers who were hired in the district started higher in the salary scale to account for their work in college. And administrators improved Papillion La Vista’s mentorship program, which provides new hires with a mentee to help them acclimate to the classroom.

“Now there are professional development courses being offered through the district for both the mentors and the mentees,” Hansen said. “They’re getting constant communication, which I think is good, and some buildings are continuing that mentoring, not just in year one, but in years two and three, making sure their teachers are connected.”

Hansen said she hopes district administration and union can focus more on retention during the next contract negotiation cycle this fall. The union wants to implement more initiatives to keep veteran teachers in the classroom, she said.

“We’re trying to work together to find more solutions and letting teachers know that they’re heard,” Hansen said. “The district is very much listening.”