In the 2021-2022 academic year, the Northern Lights School Division had 270 full-time teachers. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

staff shortage

New incentive offers up to $10K signing bonus for northern teachers

May 14, 2024 | 2:55 PM

The Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) is hopeful a new teacher signing allowance will address a longstanding staffing shortage.

Announced last week, the incentive will provide $10,000 to new teachers who accept positions in either Bear Creek, La Loche, Sandy Bay, Stony Rapids or Uranium City.

In addition, $5,000 will be awarded to teachers who are hired for schools in Air Ronge, Beauval, Brabant Lake, Buffalo Narrows, Cole Bay, Cumberland House, Green Lake, Jans Bay, La Ronge, Pinehouse Lake, St. George’s Hill, Timber Bay and Weyakwin.

“The idea came from the challenges we’ve been experiencing in the North,” said NLSD director of education Jason Young.

“I don’t think we are alone in terms of other employers and challenging times when trying to recruit employees. For us, it has been challenging for us to find teachers to fill classrooms and so we have had vacancies throughout the year. It’s just another way for us to recruit teachers.”

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The school division is also offering all-inclusive rental agreements, an increased moving allowance, a new teacher allowance of $300, and a comprehensive benefits package and pension plan.

The new teacher signing allowance is restricted to those who have received a Bachelor of Education degree since 2022 and are certified to teach in Saskatchewan. The $10,000 allowance is available in only a handful of communities because that’s where historically the school division has had the most vacancies, as well as to address concerns of higher cost of living.

“For us, the incentive was based on a model we saw somewhere else in a different province and so they coined it as a new teacher incentive for new grads,” Young explained.

“It was just focused on hiring new teachers to come into the division. The other reason for the incentive is we have talented staff throughout NLSD … and really this incentive is to attract top talent as well, and we want them to join our talented staff all across northern Saskatchewan.”

The NLSD has been experiencing a teacher shortage for many years. Last year, Young said the school division was experiencing a staffing crisis with 14 teacher vacancies.

“It’s been fairly consistent that way,” he said.

“That’s why we are rolling out this new incentive to attract teachers. That’s been the average all year and it is a situation we don’t want to be in as we move forward.”

In the 2021-2022 academic year, the Northern Lights School Division had 270 full-time teachers and 281 educational support staff. In total, the division had 586 full-time staff.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com