VENTURA : Schools Seek Waivers for 54 Teachers

The Ventura Unified School District is asking the state to issue 54 emergency teaching permits to cover the number of employees it will have this fall who have not yet obtained the proper teaching credential, officials said Tuesday.

School districts typically cannot find enough fully qualified teachers to cover all classes needed during a school year, said Gerald Dannenberg, assistant superintendent of personnel services.

So the state issues emergency waivers for those teachers as long as they are working to complete their credentials, Dannenberg said. The greatest need in the Ventura district is for teachers specializing in special and bilingual education, he said.

The temporary permits cover a variety of credentials, including single-subject, multiple-subject and bilingual, Dannenberg said.

A turnover of 50 or more teachers each year is not unusual in the Ventura school district, he said.