Photo: Thinglass / iStock / Getty Images
Although improvement has been made, there is still a teacher shortage across Florida.
That's according to numbers from the National Education Association, which counts more than four-thousand advertised teacher vacancies in the state.
In our area, there are 356 teacher vacancies in Palm Beach County, 127 in Martin and an unknown number in Indian River County. Officials from the IRC School District have not yet weighed in on the number of vacancies.
Palm Beach Schools Superintendent Mike Burke says the cost of living in the county is one of the things that makes it more difficult to attract teachers to the area. The school district is working on a 'grow your own' program, where they promote from within.
Governor DeSantis announced a proposal to put five million dollars towards boosting the profession. That would be up to lawmakers to approve as part of the new budget.