OMAHA- Several teachers in the Omaha Public Schools say they don’t feel valued or supported by the district in the current staffing crisis, which has been made worse by a raging omicron surge.

Six OPS staff members spoke at Thursday’s school board meeting to express their fears about the vacancies left by sick staff in schools and asked the board to come up with more solutions to help address the shortage.

Michelle Settlemeyer, a member of the Omaha Education Association board of directors, said 53 teachers had to cover staff absences at one high school for a single day last week.

Settlemeyer said classrooms are not getting cleaned, classes are being split between teachers, and “we are all running on empty.” Teachers are working more than 20 extra hours a week, she said.

The district needs to act now to alleviate the staff shortages, she said.

“We are feeling like we are talking to a wall,” Settlemeyer said. “It makes coming back the next day that much harder.”

The shortage is out of control, and classrooms are growing in size because there are no substitute teachers, said Robert Miller, president of the teachers union.

Teachers who are sick with COVID-19 have to stay home without being paid if they are out of sick days, he said.

The Millard and Bellevue school districts have shortened their school weeks to address the staffing shortage. Other Nebraska districts that have announced closures include Beatrice, Lincoln, Grand Island, Hastings, and Wahoo.

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