THE 2016-17 SCHOOL YEAR JOB SITUATION

A few people have recently asked me what the latest news is concerning Tim's search for a teaching job. I realized I haven't done an update in a while and have only updated a few people in person, so here's an update for the masses.

Tim did not get hired for a permanent position for this school year. Given how unsuccessful his applications to multiple districts have been over the previous four summers and given the fact that education applications are time consuming, he opted not to apply for countless jobs this summer. He focused instead on very local jobs and ended up being interviewed by the district we live in twice, once in April and again in August.

The principals told him each time that he would hear from HR about the final decision, however HR has never contacted him about either position. He contacted HR about the first position twice, once a few weeks after the deadline he'd been given and again a few months later. The first time he was told they hadn't filled the position and the second time that they had. He contacted the principal directly after the deadline for the second position had passed and was told the decision hadn't been made yet, but that he would be hearing from HR soon. As I said earlier, he has yet to hear from HR.

We're not sure if the principals aren't aware that HR's standard procedure in this district is to not notify interviewees who aren't hired that the position has been filled *or* if HR is supposed to contact all interviewees about the final decision and hasn't let the principals know that they aren't doing it. We don't know if this is how communication routinely goes with HR here *or* if it's a fluke and just an unfortunate coincidence that it's happened to us twice. There isn't any one right way to handle interviewees who don't get hired, but there's obviously been a communication breakdown somewhere along the line since two principals have told him he'd be contacted and we spent months in limbo, waiting for a call or e-mail that never came.

Anyway, every summer people ask us if the lack of a permanent position is an indication that the door to education jobs has closed. Our opinion has been that the door has stayed open, the proof being that his subbing schedule has been full for three years straight (the first year he went back to school and got his admin license, so he wasn't subbing) and is always booked out in advance. As long as teaching, even as a sub, puts food on the table, and as long as there are no other options immediately available, then that seems to be an open door.

This fall, however, is the first time that I have felt the door may be closing. I'm not sure if it's slammed shut forever, but not getting hired locally was a big deal to me. He's subbed here for three years and has had so much positive feedback during that time. The students who happily call out his name when they walk past our home or we see them around town. The administrative assistant who told him he'd make some secretary happy whenever he landed an administrative job because they appreciated the way he handled things. The principal who said Tim was the first person they thought of when a position came open at their school. The teachers who request him as a sub. The principal who told him he interviewed really well and they don't know why no one had gobbled him up yet. The staff members who let him know who will be retiring soon because they think he'd be a great replacement when the time comes. The administrators who have written letters of recommendation for him.

We've also known about a local PE teacher, a friend of a friend, a person who doesn't know us at all, who was hired by another district at the end of the summer. They understand they have to fulfill their contract here and wait the appropriate amount of time before leaving, but ideally they could get to the new school quickly and get someone started here right off the bat because there's more consistency for the students if each school can have a permanent teacher for as long as possible. However, this teacher was told a few weeks ago that there was no one available to fill their position. Tim lives a couple blocks away, had his application filed, had already interviewed in the district, and could have been there the day this teacher gave notice, so we don't know why he wasn't considered to be a viable option.

Needless to say, we don't understand why he can't get a job here. Now, let me be clear that I do not think the district owes him a job. Not at all. I have always said that no matter how much we want Tim to have a job and no matter how much we'd love having him work in the community we live in, what we want most is for the right person to be chosen so that it's an ideal situation for everyone involved. Tim would have done well at all the jobs he's applied for over the last few years, but if there's someone who can do them better, then that person should get the job. Still, this summer was pretty discouraging and frustrating.

He's still subbing locally and we'd be thrilled if he was offered a job here, but the way this all went down has changed things a bit for him in the employment department and he's not putting all his eggs in the education basket anymore.

We have always been open to non-teaching jobs, but so far there haven't been any realistic alternatives. We live simply (and would even if we were multi-millionaires) and I can stretch a dollar really far, but we have six mouths to feed and an entry level salary in a field he has no experience with just isn't going to work. We don't need nearly the amount of income many would assume a family of six does, but minimum wage just isn't going to cut it.

A friend had talked to Tim in August about a part-time job at his place of employment that has nothing to do with education at all, but Tim had applied for the second local job just a day or two before their conversation. We opted to just wait and see if he got hired or not before looking into the part-time job more seriously. Since he wasn't offered a teaching job, he's now working part-time outside of education and part-time as a sub.

His non-teaching job is at Fire Industry Restoration Experts (F.I.R.E.) and he works there 3-5 days a week meeting with clients around town and doing office work (as opposed to being on the construction sites), then subbing the rest of the time. It pays less than subbing and he's not guaranteed full-time work yet (that's their goal for him, though, and he's getting pretty close to full-time now), so it doesn't seem like a wise choice at first glance. However, subs, like classified employees, don't get paid for several weeks over the course of a school year because of non-teaching days like in-services, conferences, and holidays. He also has to find a summer job each year as a sub, but his position at F.I.R.E. is year-round. In the long run, the hourly pay cut balances out over the course of the year with consistent work days and he has the opportunity to earn raises.

So that's where things are at. If God dropped a teaching job in Tim's lap, that would be awesome. A lot of time, money, and sacrifice has gone into him being a teacher or administrator, plus it's something he's wanted to do and enjoyed doing for many years. It's hard for me to accept that the season of working in education may be coming to an end.

At the same time, other doors are opening for the first time in four years and I'm grateful for that. I have no idea what the future holds. He could be teaching full-time again, eventually becoming an administrator, and retiring as an educator several years from now. He could end up leaving education completely and end up working at F.I.R.E. for decades. He could put in a few years at F.I.R.E. and then wind up doing something totally different. Subbing could tank, F.I.R.E. fall through, and then he could end up working a job that's not even on our radar right now. I just don't know.

What I do know is that God has always met our needs. The methods and timing have varied, but we've never gone hungry and our bills have always been paid right on time. Right now he's providing through two totally different jobs, each with enough flexibility to allow the other job to happen, each with things about it that are good.