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Muncie Schools hires 40 teachers, filling vacancies days before school starts

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — With just days until school starts, Muncie Community Schools has been working to fill several dozen vacancies.

Wednesday night, they hired 40 teachers.

Eleven openings remain, but the school district is confident it has a full staff heading into Monday.

24-Hour News 8 talked to one parent who still has her concerns about the district.

More than 100 teachers have left since last year, and several dozen since the end of the school year.

The president of the Muncie Teachers Association says one of reasons for the mass exodus is because of much better pay at surrounding districts.

With school starting next week, the district has been working nonstop to fill the openings, announcing 40 just Wednesday night.

One parent of a fourth grader in the district, and the MTA president give credit to the school for their work to fill many of these posts.

But they remain concerned by all the rapid hirings.

“If they were just hired yesterday, that’s less than a week to prepare. That doesn’t sound ideal to me,” said Colleen Steffen, a parent of a student in Muncie Community Schools.

The school district declined speaking on camera but talked about optimism for the start of the school year, saying today’s teacher orientation did go well.

24-Hour News 8 has been told 11 vacancies may be a little high to start the year. With at least a couple more resignations are on their way, the district will have more jobs to fill.

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