At the beginning of summer, Pasco County Schools were facing a large teacher shortage. However, new recruiting efforts are paying off.
- New recruiting efforts paying off for Pasco schools
- District able to fill 87 positions out of 1,000
As the school year approaches, many districts are left scrambling to fill teacher vacancies. However, in Pasco County, the district said not anymore.
“We've literally shifted our hiring to start back in October and November for the coming school year," said Superintendent Kurt Browning.
The district said it starts with December commencements at state universities and starts its job fairs early.
“These human capital partners, we have four or five of them that are working with principals filling positions and helping on board these teachers," said Browning.
The efforts are paying off. The district started this summer with over a thousand teacher vacancies, since then it’s been able to fill 87 percent of them--with teachers like Lauren Gomez, 30.
Gomez graduated from the University of South Florida this summer.
“I live in Pasco so I went to the Pasco County job fair,” said Gomez. “Lake Myrtle was my second stop and got hired on the spot pretty much, so it was very exciting"
The district hopes it can keep up the trend of bringing on more certified hires. It’s currently sitting at 110 open positions for its 90 schools.