Cole Harbour parent concerned after receiving robocall about vacant teacher positions

The parent of a high school student in Cole Harbour was surprised to hear of vacant teacher positions through an automated phone call from her child’s school.

“That was a little bit concerning for sure,” Heather Corkum said. “Just knowing that there’s not enough qualified teachers to teach the courses that are being offered.”

Automated calls, or robocalls, are sometimes used by school administration staff to inform parents of events and information happening at their children’s schools.

READ MORE: What is the new normal as Nova Scotia teachers adjust to legislated contract?

The one Corkum says she received on Monday night however informed her that the school is still searching to fill positions for band and drama classrooms. It left her wondering about teacher recruitment issues in the province.

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“It went on to state that if parents know of any qualified teachers in the province, or in Canada, who are looking for work, to get in touch with the school board because they are looking,” Corkum said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It went on to state that if parents know of any qualified teachers in the province, or in Canada, who are looking for work, to get in touch with the school board because they are looking," Corkum said.

Nobody was available from the Halifax Regional School Board to comment on the automated call but concern over the vacancies was raised by NDP education critic Claudia Chender during Wednesday’s question period at the Nova Scotia legislature.

“We’re already a month into the school year. Is the minister of education concerned about the shortage of teachers in this province?” Chender asked of the house.

Over the summer, the provincial government committed to capping classroom sizes in junior high and high schools and provided the boards funding to hire new teachers.

READ MORE: Hundreds of teachers apply for classroom conditions council

Education Minister Zach Churchill says these changes come with growing pains.

“For a system that has a staffing compliment of around 10,000 people, there’s going to be staffing challenges at some points,” Churchill said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "For a system that has a staffing compliment of around 10,000 people, there's going to be staffing challenges at some points," Churchill said.

Churchill went on to compliment the principal of Cole Harbour District High School for thinking outside the box in terms of bringing the vacant staff positions to the attention of the community.

“I’m actually impressed that the principal moved so quickly and efficiently to reach a lot of people to see if the community could get together and help fill those staffing positions as quickly as possible.”