O.C. District’s Job Fair a Big Draw for Worried Teachers

Lured by the rare promise of jobs, hundreds of teachers from Southern California and beyond flocked to Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District offices on Saturday.

“There isn’t much out there,” said Julie Hammans, a third-grade teacher at Mission Viejo’s Glen Yermo Elementary School, as she joined others at the teachers job fair in Yorba Linda.

With the state facing a $35-billion hole in its finances and a $5-billion cut looming over the state’s school districts, thousands of California teachers have been on notice they may be laid off in the fall.

Rancho Santa Margarita resident Hammans, 28, is one of them.

Her district, Saddleback Valley Unified, sent notices of possible layoff to 240 of its 1,800 teachers last month. Education officials and organizations estimate the number of layoff warnings sent could be as high as 30,000 across the state, although the number of teachers who lose their jobs likely will be much smaller.

Bucking the trend, 27,000-student Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified plans to hire about 100 teachers for the next school year.

“Over the past two years, we’ve really been cutting our budget” in anticipation of a state financial crisis, said Supt. Dennis Smith. “We got into it really early, and at this point, we have almost no slack. We have teachers who leave or retire, and we need to fill those positions.”

What was once a shortage of qualified teachers in the state has turned into an employers market, and districts that are hiring, such as Placentia-Yorba Linda, have a much bigger pool of candidates.

The district’s annual job fair has attracted 400 to 450 applicants in years past, Smith said. This year, recruiters had to extend the interviews into coming weekdays to accommodate the more than 600 job seekers.

“It is more of an indication of what is happening out there,” Smith said. “There is definitely a fear factor” among teachers concerned about their job security.

It is no easier for young college graduates looking to start a career. Andrew Colomac, 23, a senior at Cal State Fullerton who expects to have his teaching credential by summer, said he finds himself competing for jobs with veteran professionals.

“It does make it a lot tougher,” said Colomac, in a dark suit and clutching his briefcase. “I may have to substitute-teach until all these budget cuts are over.”

Around him dozens of applicants sat in the lobby of the district’s board room waiting to be interviewed.

Inside the room, 80 recruiters, in teams of two, screened candidates in 20-minute sessions. Those with strong potential were given a second interview on the spot.

Hammans looked anxious.

“I am not an interview person,” she said. “I’d rather they came and saw me in my classroom.”

She has taught at Glen Yermo for two years, following three years at a school in Rancho Cucamonga.

Despite her experience and state teaching credential, Hammans is still a temporary teacher at Saddleback Valley Unified, meaning she has little seniority and is likely to be one of the first to go in case of layoffs.

During Hammans’ interview, Placentia-Yorba Linda recruiters Dorie Staack and Diane Berger wanted to know how Hammans would balance the needs of students with different abilities. What does her classroom look like? How does she handle discipline issues?

As Hammans spoke, she relaxed. She said she tried to give each one of her 20 students as much individual attention as possible because “every kid learns differently.”

Her classroom, she said, is filled with visual aids and other teaching tools. When students have difficulty with a lesson, “I sit on the floor with them and work through the problems.”

She uses fake money to motivate her students. Her husband, who owns a printing shop, has made bills with Hammans’ picture on them. Students earn $2, $5 or $10 bills for a homework well done or good behavior.

Once they earn $50, they can trade it in for a prize, school materials or a lunch at nearby Taco Bell with Hammans. The students, she said, usually choose the latter.

After the interview, Hammans was asked to wait while the recruiters completed her paperwork. Minutes later, Hammans was called to the side by another district official and told she would be given a second interview right away.

“I am shocked,” a smiling Hammans said. “I need a school I can settle in. I’m just looking for a school I can call my home.”