POLK COUNTY, Fla. — With school in full swing, teachers are back in front of students day in and day out.
"Seeing the progress the students made. Building relationships with the parents,” said Nadia Hernandez.
Hernandez was a teacher for about 19 years. She shared how it wasn't without its challenges.
"As you're learning who they are, as you're trying to see what works for them and what doesn’t, while also trying to teach the academics component of it, which is your main role,” said Hernandez.
That balancing act comes as districts across the state look to fill the gap.
The Florida Education Association recently released a report on teacher and staff vacancies, saying the number of unfilled positions has increased since August.
“While the Commissioner of Education will likely try to rewrite the facts, the truth is, if even one child walks into a classroom this semester without a permanent, certified educator, that is one too many,” said Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar in a release. “It’s unacceptable for students to cycle through four or five different teachers in a single year, because consistency is key to student success. Yet, between the micromanagement of classrooms, overbearing regulations, and Florida ranking 50th in average teacher pay, our educators and education staff professionals are being chased out of the profession. Lawmakers must take responsibility and address this crisis head-on. Parents and voters are demanding stronger public schools. They want lawmakers to strengthen Florida’s public schools, not abandon them.”
Here's a look at their data of Florida school district teacher vacancies, comparing January 2026 and August 2025 counts.
Looking closer at four counties, their data as of 1/8/2026 has Hillsborough at 340, Pasco at 120, Pinellas at 47 and Polk at 412.
"This isn't just a Polk thing. This is happening across the state,” said Stephanie Yocum, the President of the Polk Education Association.
Tampa Bay 28 reporter Mary O’Connell reached out to those four districts.
Hillsborough said they had about 250 instructional vacancies at the start of the school year, and right now, they are hovering at about 200.
In all, Hillsborough has just over 13,000 instructional personnel.
Polk County Schools said their vacancy figure includes positions currently filled by long-term substitutes, and that their total includes school counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other positions.
Polk Schools said their current teacher vacancy count is roughly 300, with a total teacher workforce of more than 6,300 people, not including subs.
"We have this perfect storm to where most of our surrounding districts can pay more because they have already taken the leap for a millage referendum locally,” said Yocum.
Yocum doesn't think they have a recruiting problem, pointing instead to retention and a constant churn of new people.
"We have plenty of people in the state of Florida who are certified to teach. A lot of them are saying don't want to do this anymore,” she said. "How do we get those people back? By making working conditions better, by making things not as hostile, by supporting educators that are doing the work in the classroom."
While digging into this story, O'Connell also reached out to the Florida Department of Education.
The Florida DOE said in part:
"The reality is teacher vacancies have declined by nearly 30% over the past two years thanks to the efforts by Governor Ron DeSantis to raise teacher pay and expand the number of pathways for qualified individuals to enter the teaching profession. Florida has dedicated nearly $6 billion since 2019 towards teacher and other instructional personnel pay increases with $1.56 billion, a $200 million increase over last year, included in Governor DeSantis’ Floridians First Proposed Budget.
Expanded certification pathways have also strengthened the teacher workforce. Through the Teacher Apprenticeship Program, more than 80 individuals are currently receiving paid, on-the-job training from experienced educators while working toward certification, with more than 500 applicants to date. Additionally, more than 100 military veterans have begun teaching through the Military Veterans Certification Pathway, and nearly 700 have applied to participate."
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Mary O’Connell has a primary focus on education-related stories for Tampa Bay 28. But she also keeps an eye on public health concerns and the always-changing car insurance market. Reach out to Mary to share any of your questions or concerns.
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