Hundreds of thousands of students in South Florida and statewide will return to public school classrooms this academic year without permanent, fully certified teachers, according to the latest vacancy data released by the Florida Education Association.
The report reveals that advertised instructional vacancies across the state have climbed to 3,157 — hundreds more than at this time last year. When combined with education staff professional positions, total vacancies stand at approximately 5,536 statewide, signaling that staffing challenges in Florida's public education system are worsening.
The shortage in South Florida:
- In Broward, it's 572 positions, including 358 teachers.
- In Miami-Dade, it's 270 positions, including 36 teachers.
- In Palm Beach County, it's 556 positions, including 276 teachers.
- In Monroe County, it's only 15 positions, including six teachers.
FEA officials blame the rising vacancies to chronic state underfunding, rising living costs, and counter-productive policies.
Florida, says the FEA, currently ranks 50th in average teacher pay for the third consecutive year, and this year’s state budget provided no salary increases for education staff professionals. Additionally, the union noted that $5 billion in taxpayer funds is being diverted away from public schools toward the state's voucher program.
“Thousands of vacancies still remain, showing us that districts are struggling to find and retain qualified educators,” said Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association. “Educators and communities are being forced to do more with less, and it’s our students who suffer when they lose access to critical programs, face larger class sizes, and grapple with widening opportunity gaps.”
“Protecting our children and their public schools shouldn’t be a partisan issue; it’s a fundamental principle we can unite on,” Spar said.
