Will Education Graduates In Mobile Find Jobs?

By Steve Alexander Reporter

Budget cuts in Mobile and Baldwin Counties raise concerns Will Education Graduates In Mobile Find Jobs?

Published: Wed, April 30, 2008 - 8:02 pm

Steve Alexander

It's shaping up to be a nervous summer in Mobile for education graduates and others hoping to be teachers.
Both the Mobile County and Baldwin County school systems have been looking at budget cuts that could force teacher layoffs.
Mobile County schools need to cut about $35 million.
Those cuts mean fewer spots for prospective teachers graduating in May.
Stephen Watts of Citronelle is graduating from the University of South Alabama this semester with a specialty in English Language Arts.
What are his plans for trying to find a teaching job?
Watts says, "I am focusing more on Baldwin County simply because they're having a job fair sooner than Mobile County is."
Peggy Delmas advises education students at the University of South Alabama.
She says she's seen the job market fluctuate.
Delmas says, "We'll be up for a while and we'll be down for a while, and if this is what they (students) really want to do, they'll just have to stick it out and weather the storm."
She says another option for students is teaching in another state.
Delmas says, "A lot of our students will go to Georgia because they have a higher pay rate, but we try to encourage our students to stay local. A lot of them do, because they grew up here and they want to say local. They don't want to go elsewhere, but if push comes to shove, they're going to go where the job is."
Mischa Antoine of Mobile is a Mathematics major, and there's been a nationwide shortage of math teachers.
She says, "I'm not too worried about getting a job. Its just where I'll be placed and when I'll be placed."
Antoine wants to stay in Mobile, but says, "Probably mid-summer if I don't hear anything from anybody, then I'll start looking elsewhere."
Watts, Antoine and other seniors graduate from the University of South Alabama on Saturday.