A Missouri School District Is Hiring Its Own Students To Combat the Labor Shortage



It’s no secret that there are job openings in several industries across the country, and school districts aren’t exempt from the nationwide shortage of workers. The Northwest School District in Jefferson County, Missouri, has come up with a creative solution to help. The district is now hiring its own high school students to fill open jobs in the district, from cooks to maintenance and after-school childcare. “We have kids that are very capable and able to hold good jobs in this community and other places of employment, so why wouldn’t we use those resources within our own facilities?” said Dr. Desi Kirchhofer, Superintendent of the Northwest School District. So far, 25 students have applied for jobs. The district said the pay is in the minimum wage range, but the hours are a big perk because they don’t include nights, weekends or holidays. The district is also offering transportation for the student-employees from their home school to another school if that’s where their job is located. The district said they have received phone calls from other districts on how the plan is going and to get ideas. The district said it would encourage other districts to do this as well.