The nation's second-largest school system forecasts hiring 1,333 instructors for next year; it hired 718 for the current year. The total teaching force numbers about 26,000.
The turnaround represents the first significant positive change in the employment climate since 2007; each year since, the district had faced significant budget cuts — from an economic recession, a drop in federal funding and declining enrollment.
Help has come from an improving economy, a voter-approved tax increase, and, perhaps most importantly, a demand for teachers that is finally outstripping the supply.
