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Tuesday, September 28, 2004 By WHITNEY KVASAGER Despite assurances from state officials that the backlog would ease, some teachers have been waiting for their certificates since the spring. "I've been on job interviews where the person comes out and says, 'We would hire you, but you don't have certification,'" said Katy Leclercq of Saddle Brook, who submitted her papers to the state through Bergen County offices in March. "I wondered, too, how many interviews I didn't get because I didn't have my certification." Leclercq, who taught elementary school for six years before seeking recertification at the high school level, now collects unemployment and works part time in a mall to help make ends meet. In May, state Department of Education officials stopped issuing teaching certificates for about a month while they tested a new, automated licensing system that would eventually allow teachers to submit applications online. However, the situation created a logjam of unprocessed applications over the summer. At the height of the hiring season, the backlog has created problems in districts throughout the state, including Passaic and Paterson, where hundreds of new teachers had to be hired by the first day of school. Most vacant positions have been filled, leaving those without credentials to go jobless until the end of next summer. Leclercq said officials told her to expect her certification next month. Then she'll start job hunting again. "I'm hoping for something in January. You do encounter maternity leaves," she said. About 16,000 applications have been processed since June, said Kathryn Forsyth, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. "Normally, that would have taken six months. We really are going from the Stone Age to the Space Age," she said. About 90,000 applications a year are processed in New Jersey. Those denied are incomplete or filed by unqualified candidates. Forsyth said there is no way of knowing who is left over from the backlog or how long they have been waiting. She said that teachers have been complaining about licensing for at least 20 years and that there are no avenues for candidates to speed up the process. If a candidate has been offered a job, however, the district superintendent may ask the state to expedite issuing of credentials. The problem became extreme when former Governor Whitman implemented her tax cuts during the first years of her administration. In order to accomplish her goals, reductions in force in all state agencies were imposed. The State BOE's Licensing Division was hard hit. Since that time more experienced Examiners have retired or left the position, all of which have led to the current disaster. "Paterson's practice of hiring staff members as 'permanent substitutes' is a pretty decent compromise in dealing with this crisis," commented P.E.A. President Pete Tirri. "New staff members are paid at the rate of $22,000 per year and receive health benefits. As soon as they get their certification number, they move to full salary. It's not perfect, and we would prefer they receive retroactive pay to the time of employment, but as long as the state fails to address the shortfall in Examiners, there is little that anyone can do." |
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