There are still thousands of teaching jobs available in Florida’s school districts, despite the fact that the start of the school year is less than two weeks away.
Approximately 9,000 teachers are still needed in Florida, according to the Florida Education Association, with most districts planning to begin classes on August 10th.
It is one of the most critical circumstances for Hillsborough Schools. There are now 1,400 vacancies in the district, with 700 of them being for teaching jobs specifically.
Rob Kriet, the president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association, expressed worry regarding the operation of schools once classes resumed. “Teachers are working wall to wall every day because of the coverage that they get,” said Kriet. “They don’t get to go to the bathroom even. The minute they get there to the minute they leave, they’re working with kids. That’s not really sustainable and that’s not in our students’ best interests.”
This year’s approved education budget by Governor Ron DeSantis includes $800 million for salary increases for the state’s teaching staff.
According to the state’s education commissioner, Manny Diaz, one of his top concerns is finding and retaining qualified educators in the state of Florida. Starting salaries for new and experienced teachers have been increased by the state, while a number of additional incentive schemes have been implemented to retain educators in the sector.
This is not enough, according to some school administrators, and the state legislature must provide more money to schools. According to Davis, attracting teachers to Florida will be difficult without a long-term financial promise.
On the August primary ballot, Hillsborough Schools is also asking voters to approve a one-millage hike. If this bill becomes law, property taxes will be raised depending on the assessed value of a residence. With the extra money, the school district would be able to pay teachers more.
