St Tammany Schools Superintendent Frank Jabbia said the board has been able to fill about 300 vacant teaching positions within the system this year.
Now they need to plug 96 teacher vacancies that remain to be filled before school begins on Aug. 8.
Brant Osborne, president of St. Tammany Federation of Teacher and School Employees, said the shortage highlights the district’s struggle to find qualified teachers. The St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees said many of those vacancies are now special education teachers.
Jabbia said he would not call it a shortage, since they have been battling these numbers for quite a few years.
The St. Tammany School Board recently approved a 3% raise, set to go into effect for teachers as early as August. Officials said efforts will continue to fill all other spots and try not to put a strain on other teachers in the meantime.
Anyone interested in vacancies within the parish can visit www.stpsb.org.
