MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Horry County is having a hard time finding teachers for core subjects, but the school board chairman says a sign-on bonus wouldn’t help fill the positions.
The Horry County School Board has discussed the idea of offering a signing bonus to lure teachers to the area and fill much needed roles in different schools. One of the main shortages in the Horry County school district is with special education teachers, which mirrors the shortage the South Carolina Department of Education says it’s seeing state-wide.
A mother of a special-needs student in Horry County says the board needs to do whatever it takes to get those teachers in the schools.
“This is our daughter, Brylei,” mother Angela Dejong says as the News13 crew enters her home. “She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth.”
Dejong says each day has its challenges, but the time 11-year-old Brylei spends at Socastee Elementary is valuable, and has changed Brylie for the better.
“It takes a lot of one on one attention for all of these children,” explains Dejong. “If they were not getting that attention, I don’t think that they would be able to learn in a regular classroom setting.”
Horry County faces a shortage of 10 special education teachers, and Dejong says she worries what that will mean for her daughter.
“Having 20 kids, special needs kids, in one room is very overwhelming, not just for the children, but for the teachers as well because they can’t accommodate all the needs,” says Dejong.
Special education makes up more than 20% of all unfilled teaching positions in South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Department of Education.
This week, Horry County school board members were asked to consider a $2,500 signing bonus for all critical needs teachers, but school board chair Joe Defeo is skeptical the cash will work.
“I just don’t know that it works, that people will really move here for $2,500, and if you start getting into giving $10,000 bonuses, now we’re talking about a lot of money,” claims Defeo.
The discussion of a signing bonus, and dismissal by Defeo, comes after the board voted this week to give themselves a raise. Defeo argues there are other ways to put teachers in those positions – starting with teachers who are already working within the district.
“I would rather focus on maybe some retraining possibly if some of the non-critical areas with teachers to go into those critical needs,” states Defeo.
Dejong says her family has personally benefited from specially trained teachers, and they deserve the signing bonus and more.
“I think at this point in time, I mean, whatever you have to do to bring those teachers here, is definitely a good idea,” says Dejong.
Critical needs teachers in Horry County include different subjects, some of those are speech, world language, math, science, and English. The largest vacancy, however, is for special education. The school board will take up the option of a signing bonus and other ways to attract special needs teachers to the area later this year. There is no set date for a vote on the matter.