COCOA, Fla. – Brevard Public Schools has 132 current openings for teachers, a district spokesperson said Wednesday.
Twenty days out from teachers reporting to schools for the new year, the president of the teacher’s union addressed the shortage during this week’s school board meeting.
“From what I can tell, the plan is the status quo,” Anthony Colucci of the Brevard Federation of Teachers said. “Put more on teachers while offering them raises far below what other districts are offering their teachers.”
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District spokesperson Russ Bruhn said Brevard Schools is hiring new employees for many positions at career fairs.
Bruhn said the district on Wednesday welcomed 65 new workers at an orientation.
A job fair happened this week at Cocoa High School.
The district’s website Wednesday showed another Cocoa school had 25 open positions, most of those for teachers at Saturn Elementary.
“Our numbers are up this year, compared to last year, and that is a concern,” Bruhn said. “That’s why we’re spending extra attention on it. We are working to make sure that the kids have a teacher in front of them on day one,” he said.
Bruhn said the district is negotiating with the teacher’s union to offer incentives for teachers working at the schools with the most vacancies.
Teachers report for the new year on Aug. 2 and students start school Aug. 10.
Interested applicants can learn about open positions at JoinTeamBPS.com.
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