Granite School District facing staffing shortages

SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — Despite the pandemic, Granite School District’s spokesperson, Ben Horsley, said they have always needed more paraeducators. 

That is, part-time employees who come in and work in the classroom space, helping with learning given the classroom size and/or taking kids out in the hallway for reading assignments. 

“We can never get enough of those,” Horsley said.

Food services is also at the top of the list of openings needing filling. 

Last year, Horsley said, already proved challenging.

“We worked at about two-third capacity last year, and that’s a big struggle because the remaining employees obviously have to cover those extra hours that are missed,” Horsley said. “If only three workers are there, obviously that works gotta be done.”

While the district hires around 4,000 teachers a year, this year, they only have a few dozen teacher openings across the district, something Horsely said is a welcome sight as students head back to classes for Fall ‘22.

“It’s as normal as we’ve been these last several years,” Horsley said.

He said with the tough economy, wages high and the high demand, they’re doing their best to offer competitive wages, salary positions and benefits. 

To apply or find out more, head to graniteschools.org, go to the menu, and click the drop down “Find Employment.”