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Boston Public Schools says teacher vacancies largely filled but paraprofessional and custodian gaps remain
Summary
Boston Public Schools told a City Council committee it started the school year with about 96% of teacher roles filled but still has continuing shortages of paraprofessionals, cab monitors and custodians; the district said it is prioritizing early posting and community recruiting to close gaps.
Frances Canty, the chief human resources officer for Boston Public Schools, told the council committee March 4 that the district began the 2024–25 school year with roughly 96% of teacher positions filled, an improvement over the previous year.
Canty said the district has narrowed teacher shortages by posting certain difficult-to-fill positions earlier — notably transformation schools — and running targeted recruiting events such as demo days, where prospective educators present lesson plans to school leaders. She said earlier posting helped transformation schools attract a more diverse and qualified candidate pool.
Remaining gaps are concentrated in support roles Canty identified as recurring challenges: part-time cafeteria attendants (77 openings), cab monitors (51 openings) and custodians (12 openings) as of the testimony date. Canty said the district has seen large applicant pools for custodial roles and is maintaining waiting lists to fill positions as they open. For paraprofessionals and one-to-one pairs (student supports), Canty said the district reported 76 paraprofessional openings and 23 one-to-one pair openings during the period covered in testimony.
Canty said the district is reviewing positions open during the past 18 months to determine which roles are essential and to reallocate funding where appropriate to school-based priorities. She also said the loss of ESSER federal funds required the district to reduce positions that had been supported temporarily by those grants and to re-evaluate allocations for the current year.
Why it matters: Teacher fill rates influence classroom staffing and program delivery; persistent support-staff shortages can affect daily operations, breakfast and lunch service, student transport and in-class assistance.
What’s next: Canty said the district will continue targeted recruiting, partnership outreach and programs designed to create pathways from paraprofessional roles into licensed educator positions. She told councilors the district is exploring third-party exit-interview collection to improve data on why staff depart and where retention efforts should focus.
