School has either begun or about to begin for West Michigan students, but many schools are beginning their school year understaffed.

Ever since the pandemic began, schools in West Michigan have faced huge challenges. Unfortunately there are still challenges in Michigan and all across the country as the new variant is causing problems with children and younger kids who have still not been vaccinated.

According to WOOD, Kent Intermediate School District Superintendent Ron Koehler said, "there's low salary, lack of respect, and constant intrusion into the operations of school by the legislature and by others. If you look at the challenges that our teachers have had to face during this period, it's been remarkable. They truly are among the heroes.

Apparently there is a demand for teachers now that will only grow moving forward and this may be a demand that may not be met because of bureaucracy and low salaries. I never understood why teachers pay isn't a top priority since these kids are the future of our country, we invest in that by investing in teachers.

Right now retired teachers are being contacted to fill the void of some of the open slots but under the current conditions with the new variant and the pandemic on the rise yet again, many of these retired teachers are the ones who could most be affected by the coronavirus. So the odds of getting a bunch of retired teachers to fill the gap are not good.

Currently about 70% of most teachers would not recommend teaching as a career choice and that is not a good sign for our schools futures.

If you know of someone who is looking to get into a teaching career, there are a host of positions that are open with opportunities with younger kids beginning school. Just click here for info.

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