Vaccines helping with TCAPS staff shortages; bus drivers still needed

Brendan Quealy, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read

Mar. 1—TRAVERSE CITY — The pandemic-caused staff shortages that nearly crippled northern Michigan's largest school district might be a thing of the past.

Nearly 80 percent of Traverse City Area Public Schools staff are now vaccinated against COVID-19 after receiving both doses of either the FDA-approved Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Seventy-two percent of TCAPS staff were vaccinated during two two-day clinics at the Hagerty Center in late January and mid February, Superintendent John VanWagoner said.

Two weeks after getting the second dose, district employees will no longer be required to quarantine if they are exposed to the coronavirus. VanWagoner said that is going to be a "huge help" in running the district with the necessary staff.

Cases within TCAPS do continue to pop up. The district reported 14 school-associated positives in the last week, bringing the total to 112 since the beginning of the school year. Despite the stream of cases, VanWagoner said "not many" staff members are currently in quarantine — which helps ease concerns.

Substitute teacher numbers are also the rise. TCAPS was operating at a fill-rate percentage in the high 70s to low 80s in November and December, which meant anywhere between 17-23 percent of the teacher vacancies had to be filled by other support staff from day to day. VanWagoner said that number is now "considerably better" and hovers around 90 percent.

The loss of bus drivers to quarantine hit TCAPS the hardest, stalling transportation and leading to closures at the three high schools and two middle schools.

"Do we have overwhelming numbers? No," VanWagoner said. "As far as having enough people, we're still right on the margins. We're doing OK, but we'd sure welcome more people here."

TCAPS officials hosted several jobs fairs in the last few months in an effort to welcome more people to the district. TCAPS Executive Director of Human Resources Cindy Berck said they've averaged three to five hires at each event. Two more are scheduled for March, including on Thursday from 3-6 p.m. at the Boardman Administration Building and another March 16.

Berck said more support staff positions — food service workers, custodians, substitute teachers — have been filled than certified positions, but the needs remain high.

"We've had needs across the board," Berck said, adding that district officials are "heavily recruiting" bus drivers. "If you look at our weekly job postings, we have needs at every level, right now."

The availability of vaccines should also help.

"We have had some retirees who expressed concern at the beginning of the school year who are now reaching out and saying they are willing to help out after they get their second dose," Berck said.

Traverse City Education Association President Allyson McBride-Culver said a survey is going out to gauge teachers' feelings about school safety with a majority of staff now vaccinated. However, McBride-Culver said there are concerns that people might now have a false sense of security and could become more lax with personal safety measures such as mask wearing and self quarantining.

VanWagoner said there is "a feeling of hope" in TCAPS after trudging through high numbers of cases and quarantines as well as "the worry of not knowing." Safety measures and mitigation protocols will continue at full force, VanWagoner said.

"It was recognized that what we — as educators — do is a key part of society," he said. "Without schools running, it's hard for all of the other parts of our society to run as well."

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services added only one area school, Suttons Bay High School with five positive COVID-19 cases, to the list of new outbreaks announced Monday. Suttons Bay was one of 29 new schools and 141 new cases announced after 20 schools and 81 cases were reported last week.

Lakeland Elementary and Elk Rapids High School, both in the Elk Rapids Public Schools system, remain on the list of ongoing outbreaks as does Benzie Central, which was designated as an outbreak site Jan. 18. Traverse City West Middle School is also an ongoing outbreak.