- April 26, 2024
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Teacher and support staff continue to pose a concern for Volusia County Schools, with principals pivoting non-classroom instructional employees back into the classroom and the district working to retain employees in a year where resignations and leaves of absences are up by 35% as compared to 2020.
At the Volusia County School Board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 28, VCS Superintendent Scott Fritz told the board that the issue with vacancies in schools didn't start in 2020, and that Volusia is not alone in its struggle.
“This is one that’s plaguing our profession, not just even the state of Florida," Fritz said. "It’s difficult to get people to go into this profession in all areas, and it’s becoming more and more difficult.”
The district currently has 77 classroom vacancies and 129 support staff vacancies, about 100 of which are paraprofessionals, said Mark West, chief human resources officer for VCS. District 1 has the most classroom vacancies at 19, followed by District 4 (of which Ormond Beach is a part of) with 17. District 1 also has the most support staff vacancies at 36, with District 5 trailing behind at 28.
The vacancies come in a year where VCS has about 5,900 more students enrolled, as compared to last year, but West said one positive was that the district has 30 schools with no classroom vacancies, and 19 schools with no instructional vacancies.
“Our principals are working hard and they are doing what they need to try and get those vacancies filled," West said.
Classroom vacancies decreased by 21 as non-classroom instructional vacancies increased by 10, a result of principals moving certified teaching staff such as academic coaches back to classrooms. This is occurring as the district is working to hire more teachers, and compared to 2020, VCS has hired more teachers — To date, the district has hired 475 teachers; by this time in 2020, it had hired 355.
However, resignations and leaves of absences are up by 90 positions, with 341 compared to last year's number of 251.
In an effort to address this, West said the district is looking at substitutes, as well as trying to get teachers and support staff to stay by working to offer memorandums of understanding for bus attendants and bus drivers which may include a signing bonus and "finder's fee bonus" for current employees who bring in new employees.
West also detailed the district is working on a similar offer for paraprofessionals with Volusia United Educators, the labor union representing educators and support staff for VCS.
VUE President Elizabeth Albert addressed the issue of vacancies during the public participation portion of the meeting, saying the district should look to take care and retain its employees by addressing the wage disparity between VCS and other districts in central Florida. The district's starting salary is $44,335. Flagler County, Orange County and Osceola County all pay their teachers more.
“It’s time the board and the district begin to recognize the sacrifices and dedications of our current employees," Albert said. "I am not a fan of using tricks and gimmicks, like hiring bonuses, for potential employees while our current employees continue to suffer and fall further behind.”
