KEARNEY, NE — A teacher shortage is top of mind for leaders at the Nebraska State Education Association as a new school year looms.

Jenni Benson is president of the NSEA, which is the state teachers union. She says she recently talked with some school districts that are still hiring positions for the fall. Just like last year, some of those are likely to go unfilled.

“And then what does that mean? That means that you have larger classes, that you have people covering for each other, and that provides a lot of stress for folks, too,” Benson said.

The NSEA says there’s been a 50 percent drop in students enrolled in Nebraska colleges of education over the past 10 years

Benson says the shortage has been building for years, but was accelerated by the pandemic and by a change in attitude towards teachers.

“We’ve taken a beating. It’s been really rough with a lot of the misinformation out there regarding a wide variety of topics," Benson said. "I just would encourage people to go out and find the truth, find the facts.”

Benson says a good way to find the facts is to volunteer at your local school or become a substitute teacher.

The NSEA is part of the effort to address the shortage. The organization participated in a convening event with the Department of Education and Nebraska’s 16 teachers colleges in October in Kearney. Benson says she’s also lobbying the legislature to provide more state aid to schools.

“We really need to remember that our number one investment should be our children because they are our future," Benson said. "We want to makes sure that every child has the same opportunity, whether they live in a very, very rural community or whether they live in a larger community.”

Benson visited with school administrators and teachers in Kearney and the surrounding communities this week.