Manteca Unified — less than a week into the new school year — is already working on hiring teachers for the next school year that starts in August 2026.

It is part of an aggressive hiring campaign that allowed the district to open this school year with only 10 permanent teaching positions unfilled out of roughly 1,600 teachers. Five of the positions are the always hard-to-fill special education teaching jobs.

And the post COVID policy of hiring a “regular substitute” — essentially a fulltime substitute for each campus — means MUSD does minimal scrambling trying to find last minute substitutes when  teachers are ill.

Those regular substitutes consisting almost all of college students in the last year of their credentialing programs roll into permanent teaching jobs the following year giving the district a leg up on other school systems struggling to find instructors due to the state’s lingering teacher shortage.

Victoria Brunn, the district’s chief finance and communication officer, noted the regular substitute program is a win-win-win.

It is a win in that:

*the fledgling teachers involved get classroom experience.

*the district has nearly 40 teachers, that once they complete their credentials, can flow seamless into district teaching jobs.

*the substitutes not only have a job while they finish their college education but also a leg up on a job next year.

*students get substitute teachers that are dedicated to a particular school which means they have a more effective learning experience.

It helps Manteca Unified is a growing district as opposed to others that are either basically stagnant in enrollment or are declining in enrollment. As such it allows the district to offer jobs using the regular substitute route a year in advance of when new teachers would normally be hired.

The overall strategy meant Manteca was able to staff almost 100 percent with permanent teachers for an anticipated enrollment growth of 550 at the start of the school year on Monday.

That reflects a surge in new students across all grade levels including a big jump in transitional kindergarten students.

The hiring process for next school year starts Aug. 14 with a job fair for teachers.

The district, which is in the process of preparing to break ground on three new elementary schools including two in South Manteca, anticipates needing to hire at least 100 teachers for the start of the 2026-2027 school year due to growth and retirements.

 Brunn noted the fact MUSD salaries and benefits are among the top in the region, has in-district dedicated mentor teachers, is modernizing school facilities, and is staying ibn top of technological advances in the classroom helps to entice teachers.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com