Hillsborough schools faces staffing crisis ahead of new school year

TAMPA, Fla. - School district officials in Hillsborough County recruited potential applicants at a job fair on Tuesday. This comes as the school system faces a staffing crisis with the first day of school quickly approaching. 

The district has about 1,400 vacancies, including 700 teacher positions and administrators are desperate to fill as many openings as possible.

"I've been doing this a long time, and I will tell you the past two years have been a tremendous challenge," said Jim Beekman, general manager of transportation services.

For now, administrators plan to fill teaching holes with substitutes and any current out-of-classroom employees with teaching certificates. Beekman, however, knows this isn't a long-term solution.

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"The administrators I know that they work on contingency plans," Beekman said, adding this isn't a long-term solution. "The district knows we can't sustain that for a period of time, because it affects students."

The staffing shortages extend to most other positions too. Beekman said his department needs 160 bus drivers and training them can take time.

Meanwhile, school systems across Tampa Bay are facing similar issues and are competing for many of the same candidates.

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"It's like a broken record, but it's important for us to get a decent wage and for our employees to get them to come join Hillsborough County Public Schools," he said, adding the district recently increased the salaries for bus drivers.

The district is asking voters to pass a one millage increase that will be on the August primary ballot. If passed, it would cause property taxes to go up based on the value of a home.

Superintendent Addison Davis wants to use that revenue to increase teacher salaries and entice more applicants to the district.