JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Teacher shortages and vacancies are down in Northeast Florida across the board, with Florida Education Association statistics showing vacancies dropping by the hundreds in some districts compared to last year.
According to those statistics, Duval County had 105 teaching vacancies on August 8 of last year, with 380 vacancies reported in St. Johns County.
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However, now those openings are down to 64 in Duval County, and just 25 in St. Johns, a massive decrease for the latter of 355 teaching vacancies.
“It just helps to build that confidence base right from the beginning,” explained Wayne King, St. Johns County Public Schools Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources. “Students feel comfortable knowing who their teacher is and kind of starting early those first couple weeks of school.”
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King attributed the drop in vacancies to hiring events and improved retention.
However, Andrew Spar, the president of the Florida Education Association, told Action News Jax the vacancy number decreases in Northeast Florida counties may have another explanation.
“I believe they have hundreds of fewer teacher positions they are filling and they are doing so because they have increased class size and there are less course offerings for students,” Spar said.
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St. Johns County officials told Action News Jax however they have not changed class sizes or course offerings.
Duval County Public Schools provided Action News Jax with the following statement explaining their decrease in vacancies:
“The first key to recruitment and retention has been the voluntary one-mill property tax voters approved in 2022. Thanks to voters, our Duval teachers are receiving a stipend of about $5,700–$7,400 to supplement their normal salary.
“The second major factor is a reduction in the number of positions we have overall. This is a direct result of budget challenges and the conclusion of federal COVID-relief funding.
“The third major factor is overall recruitment. Even though we have a reduced number of positions this year, each year brings hundreds of teacher vacancies when teachers retire or move away from the district. Our human resources team works locally and nationally on a continuous basis to attract great teachers to Duval.”
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