FINNEY COUNTY —USD 457/Garden City Public Schools has worked over the summer to hire teachers to fill the open positions around the district. However, the district continues to face multiple teacher vacancies, many are being filled by long-term substitutes, according to a statement from the school district.
To help address this challenge, Western State Bank in Garden City announced a substitute teaching program that will benefit its employees and Garden City Public Schools.
“Generally, educators don’t want to have to take time off,” USD 457 Superintendent Dr. Mike Dominguez said. “But life happens, and we hope to support our teachers by putting this in place. We are very, very humbled that Western State Bank would approach us with this possibility. We’re excited, and we know it’s going to work. We hope other businesses choose to get involved.”
Through the program, Western State Bank will pay for employees to become certified as substitute teachers. It will award the staff with additional paid-time-off (PTO) days allowing employees to participate in the program without cutting into their existing PTO.
“Our children and our future workforce are directly affected by the staffing shortage,” Western State Bank President Tyler Whitham said. “The district is working hard to find creative solutions. If we can assist by simply ensuring there are additional responsible, caring adults present to help educate these children and to allow teachers to take much-needed time off, then that’s what we’d like to do.”
More than half of Western State Bank’s 120 employees work at the bank’s headquarters in Garden City. Many are in non-customer-facing office positions, allowing for more flexibility with work schedules.
“We see this as a benefit to both the school district and our employees,” Western State Bank Human Resources Manager Allie Medina said. “We already have a generous PTO allowance and multiple bank holidays when school is still in session. Now employees have the chance to bring in additional income on their days off, and spend more time with their children if they choose to sub in their classrooms.”
For more information on substitute teaching certification, visit here or contact the Personnel Office at 620-805-77020 or email Lisa Sander at [email protected].