Should taxpayers underwrite special benefits to attract new teachers, such as affordable housing, expanded maternity leave and tax breaks?
California lawmakers have put forward a raft of proposals offering extra perks for teachers this session, prompted by what supporters say is an urgent need to do more to encourage people to get into the profession or stay there.
“Due to the extreme shortage of teachers in the state, many school districts must seek opportunities to attract qualified teachers,” Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, said of his bill meant to increase the supply of affordable housing for teachers.
Available data, though, doesn’t back up such dire assessments of the state’s overall teacher supply.
Data shows that, as state finances have improved, so have the number of teachers in public schools.
California had 332,640 teachers as it climbed out of recession during the 2010 school year. By 2015-16, the state had 352,000 teachers in 2015-16.
The number of public school students, meanwhile, has barely changed from several years ago, with enrollment of 6.22 million in 2010-11 to 6.23 million in 2016-17.
California, meanwhile, lacks a database to track teachers and identify looming workforce challenges. Lawmakers authorized such a system in 2006, and the state secured $6 million in federal funding. Gov. Jerry Brown, though, canceled the project in 2011-12 to “avoid the development of a costly technology program that is not critical,” the Legislative Analyst’s Office wrote.
