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Hawaii Schools Recruiting In California To Address Teacher Shortage

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Looking to address a growing shortage of teachers, education officials in Hawaii have stepped up efforts to recruit teachers from the U.S. mainland, including California.

Hawaii Department of Education officials said out of the 13,000 public school teaching positions throughout the state, there could be as many as 1,600 vacancies by this fall, Hawaii News Now reported. Officials said competition for teachers is fierce as Baby Boomers retire and the economy improves.

"Teachers are in such demand everywhere. Every school district is trying to steal from the other's district," Barbara Krieg said.

Looking to stem the shortage, officials have made five trips to the U.S. mainland to find teachers. Recruiting teams met last week with hundreds of potential applicants in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, along with several other cities.

While the natural beauty and weather may be appealing, teachers who move to Hawaii typically earn less than their California counterparts. The average public teacher salary in the Aloha State is $56,291, while California teachers earn $71,396 on average.

Teachers looking for relief from the Bay Area's high housing prices probably won't find it in Hawaii. According to the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the median price of a single family home in Oahu was $720,000 as of November 2015.

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