Hundreds Of Teaching Vacancies Need To Be Filled In South FL

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL — With the school year starting Wednesday, South Florida is facing a significant teacher shortage.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools has about 225 teaching positions to fill, according to the Miami Herald. The district hired about 400 new educators who participated in orientation in the days leading up to the new school year, according to a news release.

Broward County Public Schools have about 220 openings as the school year starts, CBS News reported.

Dr. Jose Dotres, the Miami-Dade’s new superintendent, told NBC 6 that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to encourage veterans to teach could fill that gap in the county.

“We need the most qualified individuals with our students, and so we’re going to make sure that if we have military personnel under these new provisions that they are able to deliver instruction, that we prepare them well, and more importantly, that we coach them in areas that they need,” the superintendent said.

In a recent news release from the governor’s office, DeSantis said, “Florida is the most veteran- and military-friendly state in the nation. We also know that our veterans have talents and skills that they can offer our students. This new opportunity expands Florida’s existing programs that help our veterans take their talents to our schools, and it will help Florida remain a national leader in education.”

The president of the Broward Teachers Union, Anna Fusco, told CBS that there needs to be even more of an effort to recruit new teachers.

"The cost of living everywhere has just gone up, so it's just making it hard to where they feel they need to go and look different for different types of jobs or careers that just the pay better," she said.