GUSTINE – School district leaders found themselves working to fill several unexpected teaching vacancies when several summer-time resignations were received.

Superintendent Gail McWilliams said a common thread in the five late resignations was a desire for the teachers to work closer to home and reduce commute expenses.

“Every single one of them went closer to where they live. That makes it tough for us, but at the same time you can understand it,” McWilliams reflected. “The gas prices are significantly higher than they were in the past, and if they are young and have families it makes a big difference.”

At that time, McWilliams was still working to fill two science openings but had come up with candidates for those positions.

Among the teachers who left, she said, was a middle school science teacher who was living in Madera.

“She said she just couldn’t do it any more,” the superintendent explained.

Sometimes, though, the cards fall in the district’s favor.

“We hired a teacher from Patterson who had been commuting to Palo Alto. We got her because we are so much closer,” McWilliams said. The district could have another situation in which it is able to hire a teacher because local schools would be closer to the candidate’s home, she added.

Several of the teachers who resigned their posts early on were not replaced, McWilliams said, but the district did have to recruit to fill the later vacancies.

McWilliams said that she was surprised by the late resignations – particularly when many districts have  been reducing staff rather than hiring.

“I was surprised that there were that many jobs available this late, but there is always a little bit of movement,” she reflected. “If other districts are experiencing growth, then they are hiring.

The district also had a recent administrative resignation, she said.

Eleanor Johnston, the assistant principal at Gustine Elementary School, has resigned.

The district will not immediately fill that position, McWilliams said.