DOE adds staff to help clear hiring red tape

By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Education Writer

The Department of Education has hired temporary staff and is considering contracting out some work in an effort to break through the turmoil and frustration generated as it hires hundreds of new teachers.

In recent days the department has been accused of driving away new recruits with entrenched bureaucracy and red tape.

As the personnel office has been deluged with growing amounts of paperwork, some new recruits have said they are getting paid less than they were promised and also have not received the relocation bonuses they were guaranteed.

Adding to its workload, the personnel office this week was flooded with hundreds of calls after schools chief Paul Le-

Mahieu announced the department would consider applicants with a bachelor's degree but no teaching experience.

To help with the influx of work, the department yesterday set up desks in the hallway and brought in temporary employees to help process the paperwork that has resulted from the hundreds of calls. About 180 applications have been filled out in the last three days.

Hiring the extra help "probably should have been done a month ago," said Deputy Superintendent Pat Hamamoto, who stressed that the department is doing everything it can to fix the problems.

The department also is considering hiring a private contractor to take over the payment of various bonuses that have been offered to new staff. The state Department of Accounting and General Services currently makes those payments and DOE staff have agreed the process can be slow.

Department staff also are discussing how to streamline the recruitment and hiring process. One option is sidestepping the time it takes to check each employee's academic credentials by allowing them to start work provided they sign a declaration about their qualifications. Another suggestion is to give new recruits interest-free loans to tide them over until their first paycheck, which can take up to six weeks.