NORFOLK, Va. — Five of the ten schools with the most teacher vacancies for the latest school year were in the greater Hampton Roads area, according to Virginia Senator Tim Kaine's office.
"We're dealing with a sizable teacher shortage in the United States. It was significant before COVID. It's grown more significant," Kaine said.
Now, Kaine is reintroducing a bill to try and help reduce teacher and principal shortages.
The bill would expand the definition of "high-need" districts to open up additional federal resources and help recruit more diverse teachers.
"Just doing the same thing we've always done is not necessarily going to solve this, so we have to undertake some innovative strategies," said Kaine.
Last year, Gov. Youngkin signed an executive order aimed at getting teachers into the classroom quicker.
Now, some educators are criticizing his administration for pausing a grant program meant to help make the classroom more diverse.
The $50,000 grant program helps teachers who are minorities get their full licenses, but the Virginia Dept. of Education has hit pause on the program.
WTKR reached out to Gov. Youngkin's office and was directed to VDOE.
VDOE did not respond to WTKR's requests for comment, but told the Richmond Times Dispatch the department is "evaluating" the program and would share more later.
For now, it's not clear why the program is being evaluated.
"Our students need the opportunity to see someone who looks like them in their classroom setting," said Dr. James Fedderman, a teacher in Accomack County and the president of the Virginia Education Association.
Fedderman says the pausing of the program sends the wrong message and says Virginia needs to invest more in education.
"It's going to require a major investment in children and public education. The part about this diversity grant that's troubling for me is these grants were written into the budget. They're already there," said Fedderman.
A recent report from the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissionfound Virginia school divisions receive 14% less in state funding per student than the national average.
During the last school year, data from the state shows Portsmouth and Norfolk had the highest teacher vacancy rates at more than 15%, while Chesapeake and Virginia Beach were just above 2%.
