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Highlands County lays out plan to boost teacher recruitment and retention
Summary
District HR director presented Goal 3 strategies to raise in-field teacher certification and retain staff, citing progress to 89% in-field certified teachers, 25 current instructional vacancies and retention programs including tuition reimbursement and grow-your-own pathways.
Carla Ball, director of human resources for Highlands County Schools, told the school board that the district is working to recruit, build and retain “a high quality staff” and outlined targets and programs aimed at strengthening staffing across the district.
Ball said the district’s target is to increase the percentage of positions filled with in-field certified teachers from 81% in 2022–23 to 90% by the 2026–27 school year. She reported that the district rose from 81% (2022–23) to 82% (2023–24) and finished the 2024–25 school year at 89% in-field certified teachers. At the end of the 2024–25 year the district reported 32 long-term substitute positions and, as of June 24, 25 instructional vacancies (down from 77 at the same time last year).
Ball described several recruiting and retention strategies: participating in in-state and out-of-state recruiting fairs, college internship partnerships (including with South Florida State College), the district’s grow-your-own programs and a partnership with TPG Cultural Exchange that currently supplies 34 teachers. She also described an “aspiring leaders” program run with the Heartland Education Consortium that has graduated 44 participants over three years to build administrative capacity.
To shore up retention, Ball said the district offers tuition reimbursement for employees pursuing required master’s degrees (notably school guidance counselors), certification-exam supports including targeted tutoring and some DOE waivers of certain examinations, years-of-service recognition, and training tailored to teachers within their first five years. She said the district’s base teacher salary starts at $50,000.
Ball noted turnover figures: the district recorded 37 resignations for 2024–25, 16 of which were teachers within their first five years. She said the district seeks to raise year‑to‑year retention of non‑retiring effective teachers from 89% (end of 2021–22) to 94% by 2026–27 and to raise retention of non‑retiring effective leaders from 93% to 98% in the same period.
Ball added operational details: the district reported 267 active substitutes, 122 processed last year and 17 currently processed and ready for the coming year, with another 35 candidates in the pipeline. She said district staff are planning recruiting events for substitutes in July.
Board members asked clarifying questions about vacancy counts and whether long‑term substitutes were included; Ball answered that long‑term subs would be opened on July 1 and were not included in the current 25 vacancies total. The presentation closed with applause from board members and district staff.
The board did not take formal action during this presentation; Ball’s report was delivered as part of the superintendent’s report.
