Virginia school districts address staffing shortages as first day of school approaches

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — As several school districts across Virginia gear up for their first day of classes — some schools are starting the semester fully staffed while others are still working to fill gaps in their faculty.

In King William County, school officials are planning to use online instruction to fill gaps for Spanish and French teachers.

According to Brunswick County Public Schools, nurses and nurse aids are needed and Hanover County Public Schools said officials are continuing to focus efforts on hiring bus drivers and instructional assistants.

Prince Edward County Public Schools officials are in search of secondary counselors and Amelia County Public Schools need one more music teacher to complete their staff.

On the flipside, other districts are well-equipped for the first day of school. In Richmond, Principal Timothy Vaughn of Thomas Boushall Middle School, said he had only one position to fill.

“Over 97% of our faculty have returned,” Vaughn said. “We’ve got areas where our nurses are fully staffed, and different support staff are fully staffed in the division. So, that really supports the growth and development of our entire division in all our campuses.”

Richmond City Public Schools told 8News it has 92 teacher vacancies this year, compared to 175 last year. The district has 14 schools with no vacancies, compared to seven last year and 90 annual subs with 110 long-term subs already hired.

Additionally, every RPS school has a principal and assistant principal, positions which were all filled by early August. RPS nurse’s offices are also fully staffed, bus routes are covered and bus drivers are hired.

According to a Chesterfield County Public Schools spokesperson, Chesterfield’s classrooms are 99% covered with 95% of teachers licensed as of August 8. However, they have 18 driver vacancies , but all routes are covered for the upcoming school year.

Additionally, nearly 80 drivers are currently going through the process of completing the medical and background requirements needed to begin training.

Additionally, there are nearly 80 driver trainees currently completing their training, as well as several applicants who are undergoing medical and background checks needed to begin training.

Henrico County Public Schools Superintendent Amy Cashwell said her schools will be ready for the beginning of the school year next week.

“We’ve made significant strides in the area of staffing, and I’ll particularly note bus drivers shortages have been a challenge for us,” Cashwell said. “We’re in great shape and fully staffed this year with new higher wages for bus drivers. We’re really excited to welcome lots of new Henrico bus drivers to the team and see them on the road serving our students and communities on the first day of school.”

In Richmond County, staffing is full. A King and Queen County Public Schools spokesperson said the school district has no staff shortages but may need to hire an elementary school teacher if class sizes are too large.

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