Human-resources staff told the Escambia County School Board on Jan. 31 that teacher hiring is “far ahead” of recent years and the district plans a May teacher job fair at Washington High School, but the superintendent warned that maintenance staffing — notably plumbers — remains a significant need.

“We're so far ahead than we've been in the last 5 years. We're... almost full,” Human Resources staff member Ms. Crosstag said when asked for an update on teacher hiring. She said she could provide specific numbers to the board later and explained that hiring typically slows after February or March because pay is prorated to days worked.

Superintendent (unnamed) described the district's response during a recent snowstorm and highlighted staffing needs in the maintenance division: “I wanna say we have 20 it's either 27 or 28 vacancies. In particularly, in the plumbing shop, we... need some individuals that are ready to go to work for us.” He asked the public to refer qualified heavy-equipment operators, diesel mechanics and plumbers to district openings.

Board member Mr. Williams asked specifically when the job fairs would occur. Ms. Crosstag replied that teacher hiring work begins the following month and that “The teacher job fair will be May at Washington High School. And then we'll also have, ed support in January, but we don't have those dates yet.” She added the district will advertise broadly, including on billboards.

Superintendent (unnamed) also warned that the February agenda would be “quite an agenda” because items that were time-sensitive but not required for the Jan. 31 meeting will move forward then. He announced a teacher-of-the-year ceremony at Washington High School that evening, with a start time the transcript records as 7:00 p.m.

Discussion classification

- Discussion: hiring status and vacancy levels; scheduling of job fairs; recognition of district staff response to snowstorm.
- Direction: staff will provide hiring numbers to the board and will advertise job-fair dates.
- Decision: no formal board action was taken specifically regarding new hiring policies or budget adjustments during this meeting.

Key details and clarifications

- Maintenance vacancies: transcript records “20 it's either 27 or 28 vacancies” (not specified exactly). The transcript names plumbing as a particular need.
- Teacher job fair: scheduled for May at Washington High School (month and site specified; exact date not specified in the transcript).
- Educational-support job fair: referenced as happening in January but specific dates were “not specified.”

Community relevance

The staffing levels affect district operations and campus maintenance across Escambia County. The district indicated outreach plans to recruit for multiple trades and for certified teaching positions.