Manatee schools looks to hire nearly 200 support staffers before return to school

BRADENTON, Fla. - As is the case with nearly every school district across Tampa Bay and more broadly across Florida, the school district of Manatee County is grappling with ongoing staffing shortages in the aftermath of COVID-19, remote learning, and the Great Resignation. Beginning Thursday, the district is hosting the first of four job fairs for support staff positions.

When you visit the district's career site online, you'll see nearly 400 positions posted. 370 of the listings were published in 2022, with the remainder of the vacancies lingering from 2021. Roughly 200 of the open positions are for teachers and administrators, while the other half is for support staff. It’s these roles that the district is looking to fill with this month’s job fairs.

The events will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 9; Thursday, June 16; Thursday, June 23, and Thursday, June 30. Interested job seekers can apply and interview for positions on the same day. The job fairs are being held at the Wakeland Support Center, located at 1812 27th Street East in Bradenton.

Open positions include school bus drivers, school bus attendants, cafeteria managers, custodians, food service workers, and vehicle mechanics. The district is encouraging interested applicants to apply online before the support staff job fairs.

READ: DeSantis signs school safety changes bill in wake of Uvalde mass shooting

FOX 13 asked Manatee schools communications director Michael Barber if he recalled the last time the district has had this many vacant positions.

"I never remember anything like this," he said over Zoom. "I’ve been with the school district for 16 years and I covered the school district as a reporter for five years before that. There’s never been anything close. There’s been years where, we’ve maybe needed more teachers and stuff like that, maybe need to hire bus drivers, but nothing has even come close in the last 20 years."

The district said it is offering competitive pay, starting at a minimum of $15 per hour. Barber said that despite the dire need for staff with a limited amount of time, the district is not cutting corners when it comes to vetting candidates for the open positions. 

For more information or view a list of open positions, please visit www.ManateeSchools.net/Careers or call (941) 739-5700. There is a separate virtual career fair for the district’s available teaching positions on Tuesday, June 14.