
Illustration: Rae Cook/Axios
Metro Kids Care before- and after-school programs aren't being offered at three Des Moines elementaries due to staffing shortages, district spokesperson Phil Roeder tells Axios.
- More than 350 students remain on Metro Kids' wait list.
Why it matters: It's one example of how a staffing crisis is affecting school services across the state, Margaret Buckton of the Urban Education Network tells us.
Catch up fast: A teacher shortage is a national problem being linked to burnout, low wages and increasing demands, Axios' Erica Pandey and Allison Snyder report.
- Meanwhile, Des Moines Public Schools has offered a $50,000 delayed retirement incentive to try to keep teachers on board.
By the numbers: As of Monday, DMPS had at least 105 unfilled positions, including 44 teachers and 34 special education instructors, Roeder said.
- Statewide, schools had more than 5,000 positions open, according to Teach Iowa, a service through the Iowa Department of Education.
- That includes more than 1,100 full-time classroom positions, mostly teachers.
Of note: More than 95% of DMPS' full-time positions are filled, including teachers, Roeder said.
What’s happening: School starts Wednesday in DSM and the unfilled classroom positions will be covered with a combination of long-term substitutes or by reassigning teachers, Roeder said.
- Of 23 Metro Kids Care sites, the Garton, Willard and Wright elementary locations will not open until the district finds enough staff.
- The district was able to provide transportation for about three dozen students to nearby schools that still offer the Kids Care program.
The big picture: DMPS' staffing shortage is problematic but it's not an anomaly. Cedar Rapids — which has about half as many students as DMPS — has more than 150 open positions, according to the district’s website.
- Ankeny, Johnston and Urbandale had five or more full-time classroom positions listed Monday by Teach Iowa.
What we're watching: Two legislative changes this year should help ease school staffing shortages, Buckton said.
- Students no longer must pass a college exit exam to become an Iowa teacher. As a result, there are more pending licenses that could be approved in coming weeks.
- Earning limitations for employees in the state retirement system who return to work have increased, a benefit that starts four months after their initial retirements.

Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Des Moines.
More Des Moines stories
No stories could be found

Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios Des Moines.