Orange County Public Schools starts school year with shortage of teachers, bus drivers

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools started the school year with shortages of both teachers and bus drivers.

“We have 3% of the classroom positions that are vacant,” Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez said.

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Vazquez said substitutes, resource teachers and district staff are being used to fill in classrooms where needed.

She said the district will reassess its needs after the first two weeks.

Read: Back to School: 8 Central Florida districts head back to school today

The district is also facing a shortage of bus drivers, which is a years-long issue. Some drivers are having to double up on routes.

Vazquez says competition for drivers in Central Florida is high, and the district can’t match the pay of the theme parks.

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“I do not see that improving significantly to where we’re going to feel comfortable that we’ve got a surplus of bus drivers,” she said.

VIDEO: 8 Central Florida districts head back to school Students, teachers and staff at eight different school districts in Central Florida headed back to school Thursday. (Sam Martello, WFTV.com/WFTV)

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