By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

GREAT BEND — The Associated Press reported that Kansas schools had more than 600 vacant positions last year. Low pay was blamed for many of the problems in attracting teachers to Kansas.

USD 428 in Great Bend, like many other districts in the state, have spent years going to job fairs in different states in hopes of luring educational professionals to start their careers in Great Bend. USD 428 Assistant Superintendent John Popp says Michigan used to be the state with an abundance of teachers, but that has shifted to New York.

“We will probably go back to Michigan, but it sounds like New York and the Pennsylvania area are more flush with teachers,” Popp said.

The Great Bend school district plans to attend a job fair in upper New York sometime during the 2019-2020 school year.

“There are some other districts in Kansas that have had luck pulling teachers out of there, so we’ll probably go to the New York area,” added Popp.

According to the National Education Association the 2017-2018 national average starting teacher salary was $39,249. The Kansas average was $35,769.