Missouri school district recruits Arizona teachers amid layoffs, closures
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The recruiting materials promise Arizona teachers higher pay, better retirement benefits, and a lower cost of living. There is one condition: you must be willing to relocate to St. Louis.
Arizona school districts have increasingly made headlines for campus closures and layoffs, and short-staffed districts in other states are taking notice.
This week, the Hazelwood School District hosted a series of job fairs in Tucson, Nogales, Sierra Vista, and Yuma, trying to lure laid-off teachers to the Midwest.
While studies show Arizona continues to struggle with a teacher shortage, at least five Valley school districts have announced campus closures and layoffs this year alone, triggered by declining enrollment.
There have been similar announcements in southern Arizona. “We see that districts are having RIFs—reductions in force—and when that happens, teachers are displaced. They’re great teachers, but they just don’t have a job anymore in that district,” said Keith Bausman, assistant superintendent for Hazelwood and an Arizona State University graduate. “We want to come in and we want to assist those teachers because we need teachers.”
Bausman said Hazelwood is looking to fill 100 to 150 teaching positions across all grade levels, from early childhood education to high school. The district is offering Arizona teachers full credit for their years of experience for pay scale purposes. Salaries in Hazelwood range from $47,000 to $95,000 annually. In addition to competitive salaries, Hazelwood touts better retirement benefits and a lower cost of living compared to Arizona.
Like Arizona, Missouri has been dealing with a chronic teacher shortage. Hazelwood’s recruitment push extends beyond Arizona. The district has also held job fairs in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Arkansas—states that, like Arizona, rank near the bottom nationally for teacher pay.
This is not the first time Arizona teachers have been targeted by out-of-state recruitment efforts. In 2022, a Dallas school district placed billboards across the Phoenix area advertising teacher salaries between $60,000 and more than $100,000.
Teachers interested in more information on Hazelwood can contact Bausman directly at kbausman@hazelwoodschools.org.
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