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Okaloosa schools report hires after April job fair; district to keep on-site application help monthly
Summary
District staff said a job fair at Choctaw High drew about 60 applicants, produced roughly 10 hire offers and will be followed by regular application-assistance days to sustain recruiting.
The Okaloosa County School District on Thursday reported early hiring results from an April 5 job fair at Choctawhatchee (Choctaw) High School and outlined continuing recruitment steps.
Personnel director Miss Maxey said the district held a job fair at Choctaw on April 5 that attracted more than 60 applicants for instructional and support positions, and that principals and departments were able to conduct on-site interviews. "We had over 60 applicants that attended the job fair," Miss Maxey said.
The job fair produced immediate offers: district staff said they had extended about 10 offers so far, including six instructional candidates and several support hires. Miss Maxey said the district has already hired some attendees and was able to move successful candidates onto buses the week after the fair to begin work.
District leaders framed the event as part of a broader recruitment strategy. Miss Maxey said the district will continue offering an "application assistant" help desk at the central office on the second Tuesday of each month, with HR and IT staff available to help applicants who have trouble with online forms or passwords. "We had availability for them to do on-site interviews," she said. "We also had space where they could do application assistance. ... This is something that we are going to continue doing."
Board members asked about retention and whether the district is seeing applicants from recent layoffs in other sectors. Doctor Hale said it was too early to draw firm conclusions on retention rates but that vacancy carryover has declined compared with previous years. "I would say that, you know, this year, we carried some vacancies into the beginning of school. The previous year was much more than that," Hale said when asked about staffing trends.
Officials also discussed the recruitment challenge created by opening a new school; Hale said new schools generally attract applicants but can shift existing staff distribution and require planning. The district emphasized a mix of broad job fairs and smaller, regionally focused recruiting events to target nearby hiring needs such as custodial staff and bus drivers.
The board did not vote on new hiring policy at the meeting. The superintendent's office and HR said they will provide follow-up data on hires and retention as part of future reports.
Ending: District staff recommended continuing the combination of large job fairs and localized recruiting events, plus regular application-assistance sessions, as part of their recruitment strategy heading into the next school year.
