The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the state’s long-running shortage of substitute teachers, and school districts are experimenting with new ways to address the issue.

Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is short about 300 regular teachers as of August, furthering the problem, according to KRQE. 

“So I believe we’re sitting on 650 [current substitutes] at the moment so we need another 500 and that seems like a lot, but it’s during this day and age with the pandemic, it’s exaggerated the problem,” APS Superintendent Scott Elder said. 

Elder said administrators, other teachers and staff are work diligently to fill in the lack of substitute teachers. Some teachers are taking preparation periods to cover a classroom.

“We have EAs [education assistants], we have administrators, we have teachers, we’re using everybody we can,” Elder said.

He touched on the issue in his weekly address on the district’s website and asked anyone interested to apply for a substitute teacher position.

“We know the pandemic forced many to re-evaluate their jobs and wonder what they will do next,” he said on the district website. “Education could be the new career for those seeking a change, and substitute teaching is a possible entry point.”

Santa Fe Public Schools has about 36 open teacher positions, while the district needs about 75 substitute teachers, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

They’ve been implementing many of the same methods, stretching already thin resources thinner.

“Until everything is filled, we’re constantly having our attention diverted to taking care of putting people into those positions,” Human Resources Director Howard Oechsner said. “That takes a lot of time on the part of our principals and our department heads."

Statewide, there are about 1,048 teacher vacancies this month, according to the newspaper, up from about 571 vacancies year-over-year.