Governor DeSantis touts decreased teacher vacancies during Tampa roundtable
TAMPA - Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that there is good news regarding teacher vacancies in the state during a roundtable in Tampa on Wednesday.
He was joined by Florida Department of Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia at the Hillsborough Academy of Math and Science Charter School.
By the numbers:
The governor says that statewide vacancies are down by nearly 18 percent.
DeSantis attributes that success to aggressive increases in pay raises, insisting that school districts must use the money for that purpose.
What they're saying:
"Just in the last two years, if you look at all the vacancies two years ago, we have now knocked out and filled 30 percent of those," DeSantis said. "We are attracting teachers, we have dedicated more than $9.5 billion towards teachers and pay increases."
READ: DeSantis speaks at 2025 Florida Sheriffs Association Summer Conference in Orlando
Hillsborough schools say vacancies have improved, with 200 fewer vacancies at the same time last year.
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The Source: Information for this story was provided by Governor Ron DeSantis and Hillsborough County Schools.