‘It’s a very urgent need:’ Lake County schools working to fill more than 100 roles before new school year

Impacts from COVID-19 has taken toll on hiring process, district says

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – With a need to fill openings ahead of the school year, Lake County Public Schools held a job fair on Wednesday with dozens of positions up for grabs.

The job fair at East Ridge High School was the first large in-person event for the district since the beginning of the pandemic.

Quiana Peterson is the district’s recruiter and said impacts from COVID-19 have taken their toll on the hiring process.

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“I think everyone is struggling to hire, but the pandemic has kind of exacerbated an already difficult situation,” Peterson said. “It’s a very urgent need. We are several weeks away from the school year starting.”

For instructional learning, the district is seeking elementary education, language arts, math, science and special education teachers. Teacher assistants are another need, which was a target position for Lucia Deleon.

“Coming here, I think it’s a better opportunity. They see my face (and) I hopefully get to interview with someone,” Deleon said.

According to the district, there were approximately 60 openings for instructional positions and 100 non-instructional positions were available.

Like most Central Florida school districts, the biggest need in Lake County is transportation.

“That’s the hardest one because it does require a commercial driver’s license, which we do provide for candidates who are interested,” Peterson said. “If we don’t get enough bus drivers, we’re going to have to get really creative to figure out how we work those routes.”

Department leaders conducted several interviews and made hires for some positions on-site at the job fair Wednesday.

With the hiring process continuing over the next several weeks, Peterson said plans are being made to best accommodate students’ needs.

“We do want parents to feel assured that we will figure it out and we will make sure students are taken care of. That’s our number one priority,” she said.

To view and apply to current open positions, click here.


About the Author:

Mark Lehman became a News 6 reporter in July 2014, but he's been a Central Florida journalist and part of the News 6 team for much longer. While most people are fast asleep in their bed, Mark starts his day overnight by searching for news on the streets of Central Florida.

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