Craig Daily Press

Eleven down, 22 to go.

That was the status Monday of the Moffat County School District’s search for teachers and other staff members to fill open positions for the 2008-09 school year.

Between the Moffat County School Board’s May and June monthly meetings, the School District secured 11 new staff members, including six teachers, four paraprofessionals and one counselor, according to the district’s June personnel report.

In some cases, new employees were selected to replace teachers who had left district schools during the previous school year, said Cindy Vorhies, school district personnel assistant.

Others, however, were hired to accommodate growing student populations, including those at East Elementary School, Vorhies said.

Two new teachers hired for next year hail from New York and Wisconsin.

One of next year’s new teachers, however, already is a familiar face to some school district employees.

Kelly-Anne Kirk began substituting in district schools six years ago. Most of that time Kirk spent substituting in classes from sixth grade on down.

This year, she’ll become a sixth-grade science and math teacher at Craig Intermediate School.

Kirk said she was “extremely” excited to have landed the job.

“I’m excited for the team I get to work with,” she said. “It was good.”

The school district’s task isn’t done yet. It currently has 22 positions open. Unfilled jobs include 11 licensed positions and 11 classified positions, or those that don’t require a teaching license.

School district officials also are looking for substitute teachers.

Former assistant superintendent Joel Sheridan said finding and keeping quality teachers has been the largest challenge in his six-year administrative career in the school district.

“The application pool is so much smaller,” he said.

An opening for a physical education teacher in the early 1990s once brought in 153 applicants, said Sheridan, who’s retirement took effect Monday.

“You’d probably get 15 (applicants) now,” he said, or “about 10 percent of that.”

Sheridan said he doesn’t see the trend ending in the near future.

“I think it’s going to continue to be a very significant challenge,” he said.

Vorhies has seen a similar trend.

“I think it’s a kind of trend that might be global,” she said. “It’s not just particular to our district.”

Studies done by the U.S De­­partment of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics tell a similar tale.

Employment numbers for teachers from preschool to secondary levels are projected to increase by 12 percent in a 10-year span between 2006 and 2016, the Bureau’s Web site reported.

The percentage growth is about average for other professions in that time span.

However, the high number of occupations available in the teaching field means that a 12-percent employment growth will produce an additional 479,000 jobs, according to the Web site, or “more than all but a few occupations.”

Bridget Manley can be reached at 875-1795 or bmanley@craigdailypress.com.