Hillsborough hopes job fair will fill open school positions

TAMPA, Fla. - Struggling to staff its classrooms, lunchrooms, and buses, the Hillsborough County school district will hold a job fair Wednesday as it tries to fill hundreds of open positions.

According to organizers, the district has openings for more than 500 teachers, 100 bus drivers, 71 janitors and more than 180 student nutrition services employees.

"When we were hit with COVID last spring and all the kids were basically the school shut down, [the employees] were at home. We lost a lot of employees who stayed home with their kids," said Shani Hall, general manager of Student Nutrition Services. "A lot of them have chosen not to return."

Rob Kriete, president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association's Executive Board, said COVID-19 has made an already challenging staffing situation worse on educators.

"That creates higher class rosters because those kids are still being taught by somebody. We have a great need for substitute teachers, and it's making the problem that we have with COVID only worse because we're putting more kids in classrooms," said Kriete, adding there's a shortage of about 5,000 teachers statewide. "We need you; the kids need you, and it's a very rewarding job working with these kids."

As of late Tuesday, more than 400 people had registered for the job fair, which will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Silo Bend Event Center at 9036 Brittany Way in Tampa.