CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) — Wakulla County is one many school districts dealing with a teacher shortage. According to the Florida Education Association, in 2022 there were more than 6,000 teacher vacancies across the state.
The Florida Department of Education shows English, Science, Reading and Math are amongst the subject matter districts across the state are seeing the biggest teacher shortage.
Casey Kimbrell is a mother of a Wakulla County third grader. She's concerned about how the teacher shortage in the district is effecting students.
"I kind of just worry about my child's education," Kimbrell explained. "I mean if the teachers are overbooked in their classrooms, they have more students than they can handle or keep behaviors in check... how much education are they really getting?"
One way the district was trying to fill vacancies was through a Teacher Exchange Program. The motion failed 4-1 in Tuesday night's school board meeting, following concerns from parents and teachers.
We contacted Wakulla County School District for an interview on the teacher shortage while addressing a failed proposal for a Teacher Exchange Program. They declined an interview but released this statement saying:
"The Teacher Exchange Program has been used by many districts across the State of Florida as a resource for decreasing stress associated with the current teacher shortage. Overall, it has been a success for these districts. Last night the Wakulla district missed an opportunity to add the support of this program to our ability to recruit teachers. As a result, there are concerns over meeting class size in the future."
ABC27 contacted Wakulla County Schools to find out how many vacancies they currently have through a public records request. We are currently waiting for a response.
