Horry County Schools using new company to fill critical job positions

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - Horry County Schools are getting some help filling open substitute positions.

This year, the school district used part of its budget to hire a substitute service company. It is called Kelly Education and will help recruit short-term subs both inside and outside of the classroom.

That includes substitute teachers, nurses, custodians and even cafeteria workers.

District spokesperson Lisa Bourcier said two of the Kelly Education employees work right at the district’s office to help speed along the process.

“It really helps with the ease of finding those vacancies early in the morning and not tasking our school administrators with trying to get substitutes,” Bourcier said.

Bourcier said the district has also been hard at work recruiting teachers. The district has welcomed 350 new teachers this year, filling 97% of all open teaching positions.

She said many of the open spots are for high school math and science teachers, but other teachers are doing a great job picking up extra classes in the meantime.

“We have wonderful teachers that will certainly step up if they have a planning period and are able to teach,” Bourcier said. “They are compensated for picking up that additional class, but we all kind of work together to make it work.”

When it comes to bus drivers, the district still needs to fill 80 positions.

They are hoping to get people interested by offering bonuses, a higher starting salary and paying for the license and required training.

Bourcier said the district will continue holding recruiting events throughout the year.

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