FEA Ranks Polk County schools No.1 in vacancies

BARTOW, Fla. — The Florida Education Association (FEA) is calling it a “retention crisis at a breaking point,” after reviewing the number of teacher and instructional staff vacancies at schools across the state.

FEA reviewed county-by-county vacancy data as of January, and with 412 vacancies, it lists Polk County schools as the number one district with the most vacancies in the entire state.

“That’s almost 10% of your classrooms that are not having a certified, qualified educator in front of children. So that’s a problem and it’s been a consistent problem, and it’s not just a consistent problem in Polk. This is happening statewide,” said Stephanie Yocum, President of the Polk Education Association.

Yocum says retention is a big problem, and many of the teachers who she represents say they love teaching, but not the bureaucracy that comes with it.

“Over the last 15, 20 years, the state has enacted laws and policies that have made it very hostile for teachers and educational staff to even want to come into this job, let alone stay in this job,” she said.

Spectrum News reached out to Polk County schools and they declined an interview, but say that the 412 vacancies reported by the FEA is “a little misleading.” They say their vacancy figure includes positions filled by long-term subs, and that it includes positions like school counselors, social workers, deans, etc. District officials report their current vacancy count of strictly classroom teachers is roughly 300.

Yocum says the goal, though, should always be to get permanent certified, qualified teachers in classrooms.

“You might have a phenomenal long term sub that’s almost there to get certified but then you might have someone who’s just doing it to do it without any intention of being certified,” Yocum said. “So we can’t just be satisfied with having a warm body.”

Yocum says if Polk County voters approve the millage referendum to raise teachers’ salaries in November, it could help, but in the meantime, Yocum says it’s students who pay the price.

Hillsborough County Public Schools is second on the FEA list with 340 instructional staff vacancies.