By Andrew Powell, The Center Square
The Sunshine State may soon reach crisis levels as a teacher shortage looms.
Florida TaxWatch has released a new report showing that Florida's teacher salaries rank 50th in the nation and school districts are struggling to fill vacancies.
"The well-being of Florida's K-12 education system should be a concern for all taxpayers. Comprising 43.9 percent of general revenue spending for Florida's FY 2023-24 state budget, education is one of the biggest consumers of taxpayer dollars," the report says.
According to the report, teacher vacancies declined 13% in four years during the 2020-2024 school years. However, the available vacancies were still more than double those during the 2016-2017 school year.
Orange County Public Schools is doing better than last year, though, according to Melissa Byrd, Orange County School Board Member for District 7.
"Unlike the rest of the state, Orange County is seeing less vacancies this year than we did last year," said Byrd. "With only 88 current vacancies compared to 246 at the same time last year, I am pleased with the hard work of our district staff. I believe this is a direct result of the substantial 9% raise we gave our teachers last year."
The Florida Department of Education says in their report that many teachers needing to be certified in the appropriate fields are being hired to fill teaching positions. It also notes that postsecondary institutions need to produce more graduates to meet K-12 needs.
Around 15% of courses offered in F-ranked and D-ranked schools are taught by out-of-field teachers, compared to only 6.4% of courses in A-ranked schools.
The report notes the subject area with the most out-of-field teachers is English for speakers of other languages, often these teachers are instructing lessons in different subject areas. Science-Earth and Space and Science have the most significant demand, equating to two courses per certified teacher.
Florida TaxWatch notes several reasons for the growing shortage, the first being a decline in popularity with 270,000 teachers projected to leave the profession every year. Half of those go on to change careers altogether.
There are also fewer people entering the profession from college, as teacher salaries in Florida continue to lag around $53,000 per year.
Compared to other states, Florida's cost of living adds further barriers to teacher recruitment despite having no state income tax. Teachers' take-home pay in states like Pennsylvania, New York, and Illinois averages between $500 and $1,000 more for every bi-monthly check after state and federal taxes than Florida's.
The report notes that Florida lawmakers are currently trying to elevate these burdens and have launched various programs since 2020. These include the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program, which helps with a down payment and closing costs and increases to teacher salaries in the state budget.
