Pasadena ISD close to filling all open positions

Nikolai Sorokin: Fotolia

Pasadena school district has slowed down recruitment efforts and is close to having all open positions filled, according to Jennifer Patrick's "Houston's Hiring" latest blog entry.
Candace Ahlfinger, associate superintendent of Communications and Community Relations at Pasadena said, "We hire approximately 300 to 400 new teachers each year, but a majority of our positions have been filled with the exception of less than 50 teachers in the critical need areas of math, science, bilingual and special education."
Pasadena did not open any new schools this year either, the first time in a long while.
"We try to hire most of our teachers at our job fair in May," Ahlfinger said.
This year, the district offered teachers a 4 percent increase in pay to remain competitive with other school districts.
Pasadena ISD went through a reduction in force before the 2009/2010 school year, but because of retirement and resignations, nobody actually lost their jobs. While teachers are hired before the school year begins, they are continually taking applications for support personal such as food services, janitorial staff and bus drivers.