ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — As students return to the classroom across Florida, new data shows teacher and staff vacancies remain a concern in several districts, including in our area.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) released updated vacancy numbers showing Palm Beach County and St. Lucie County among districts with some of the largest staffing shortages statewide. The data comes amid an ongoing debate among state lawmakers and teachers’ unions over how to recruit and retain educators.
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In St. Lucie County, the number of vacancies has increased significantly since the start of the school year. According to the FEA, St. Lucie Public Schools reported 15 vacancies at the beginning of the year. That number has risen to 128 halfway through the year.
David Freeland, president of the Education Association of St. Lucie, said it's hard to miss.
“We notice teachers leaving constantly. In some places, it’s a revolving door.”
Freeland said the midyear increase is concerning.
“Well, I think that’s a high number for us,” he said. “It’s troubling, typically, all things being equal, in the middle of the year because that means we’ve lost teachers.”
We reached out to St. Lucie Public Schools late Friday afternoon to ask about the increase in vacancies. We're still working to get answers.
As for the School District of Palm Beach County, the FEA's data shows 234 total vacancies, down 10 from last year.
However, Sean Cooley, the district's chief of communications, said teacher vacancies are the lowest they've been in over 10 years, with 117 open teaching positions and a vacancy rate of 1%.
Despite those numbers, the FEA said filling education jobs statewide remains difficult. Union President Andrew Spar has cited micromanagement, strict regulations and Florida’s ranking of 50th in teacher pay as factors contributing to educators leaving the profession.
Freeland said he shares those concerns and believes state-level policies play a role.
“This is a concern not just for our district but for us because it ultimately impacts our students,” Freeland said. “The biggest issue in a nutshell is the lack of respect that comes from the state.”
We also contacted the Florida Department of Education for comment Saturday night regarding the union’s concerns. We were unable to get a hold of anybody, but we will continue to reach out.
In the meantime, educators said they hope state leaders take steps to address staffing challenges.
“It’s something that really, in my opinion, should be a no-brainer and yet we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot at the state level,” Freeland said.
Portions of this story were assisted by artificial intelligence tools and reviewed by a WPTV journalist to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to editorial standards.
