BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — With just two days until the start of school, there are still thousands of teacher and support staff vacancies across Florida.
In Brevard County, after two years of uncertainties and disruptions, the district is regaining its momentum.
Brevard Public Schools students return to the classroom on Wednesday.
In these last few days before the start of class, the district continues to register students and is making sure there will be staff there to greet them.
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Channel 9 spoke with Brevard Public School Superintendent Mark Mullins about the upcoming school year.
“It’s kind of a combination of all things, and we’re just having to work through it,” Mullins said. “We were definitely hit hard with enrollment two years ago. This is really the first full school year after the pandemic. We made some considerable gains this last school year. We’re showing again that our enrollment will grow again this year.”
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So far, 22,000 students have requested transportation to school, that’s 4,000 more students than last year.
The district is still hiring bus drivers.
“If you’re watching the growth that is happening in Brevard County - I know across the state, but particularly in Brevard County with the expansion of the space industry and all the supporting industries, for that, I am cautiously optimistic,” Mullins added.
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There are currently 143 classroom openings down from 194 positions and there are 181 support openings down from 294 vacancies.
Channel 9 has learned that about 50-60 positions were filled during recent job fairs.
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The district is also working to create new pathways to becoming a certified teacher in the classroom in addition to some other initiatives.
“A big push this year is both community and parent engagement in our schools and for our kids. I would encourage our community to take advantage of these opportunities,” Mullins said.
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