Hillsborough, Pinellas districts hope to fill hundreds of open positions before start of school year

TAMPA, Fla. - School may be out for the summer, but local school districts are already working hard to fill positions for next year. 

While there are a wide variety of positions available across Bay Area districts, one of the biggest needs is bus drivers as local districts have seen a significant shortage over the past few years.

In Pinellas County, they are doing what they can to try and recruit the best of the best by offering incentives to bus drivers who come on board. Those incentives Including a $1,000 sign-on bonus and an additional $500 after completing driver CDL requirements. They will tack on another $500 after the completion of the school year. 

It’s stiff competition as several districts in the Bay Area are in need of bus drivers – not just in Pinellas County. So, districts are doing what they can to help sweeten the deal.

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The Hillsborough County School District also has several bus driver positions available as well, but the district is focusing on jobs beyond just bus drivers. They currently have over 1,500 open positions as they have been dealing with staffing shortages for months. This year, the number of vacant positions has only gotten higher.

According to the district, they currently have over 880 instructional positions available, 449 support staff positions, and 144 student nutrition positions to fill before the beginning of next year. But, just like other counties, the Hillsborough County School District is in desperate need of bus drivers who are willing to keep their kids safe. 

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As the districts prepare for the next school year, both Hillsborough County and Pinellas County are hosting job fairs Tuesday to bring new employees on board.

In Pinellas County, their district's job fair will last from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m at the Walter Pownall Service Center on Belcher Road in Largo. For more information, visit http://www.pcsb.org/busdrivers.

In Hillsborough County, their district will be hosting its own job fair from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Career Source Tampa Bay offices on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Tampa. For more information, visit http://www.hcpsjobs.com/.