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Monroe County School District’s executive director for personnel support Harry Russell is leaving “no leaf unturned” to find qualified candidates for 64 job openings. CHARLOTTE TWINE/Contributed
Monroe County feels pinch of nationwide teacher shortage
CHARLOTTE TWINE
www.keysweekly.com
With the Aug. 10 start date for the school year coming fast, Monroe County officials are scrambling to fill teacher positions, “leaving no leaf unturned.” They are not alone. School districts across the nation are struggling to find educators to teach their children.
“There’s a national teacher shortage,” Harry Russell, the school district’s executive director of personnel support and instructional leadership, told Keys Weekly. “And Florida is not immune to that.”
At a recent school board meeting, superintendent Theresa Axford said Florida currently has 7,500 job vacancies throughout its school systems.
The Monroe County School District currently has 64 positions that need to be filled, Russell said. Of those 64 openings, 17 are for teachers. “From Key West to Key Largo and all the schools in between, we need food service workers, paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, school psychologists, administrative assistants, maintenance positions, activities leaders, day care workers and bookkeepers.”
The reasons for the shortage? Russell said that locally, affordable workforce housing is a problem. But he also pointed out a nationwide trend since the pandemic.
“The job market is going through self-correction nowadays,” he said. “Employees are looking for opportunities to work virtually. The market is reshaping itself.”
As of press time, “the greatest need for teachers is in the Key West area,” Russell said. Key West High School needs five teachers, and Horace O’Bryant School needs five, as well. Poinciana Elementary School needs two, and Gerald Adams Elementary School needs two.
However, Russell pointed out, other areas in Monroe County have filled all or most of their teacher openings. Three schools in the Upper Keys — Coral Shores High School, Plantation Key School and Key Largo School — have hired all needed teaching staff. Sugarloaf School needs one teacher, while “Marathon will probably have zero openings by the end of the week,” Russell said.
A common problem is that good candidates are hired from out of state, but then they back out upon realizing that they can’t afford to live in the Keys. “We proactively ask candidates: ‘Are you familiar with the Keys? The cost of housing?’” said Russell. “We definitely don’t sugarcoat that so they know what they’re up against and don’t back out.”
Sometimes, state requirements come into play when looking for an educator, said Key Largo School principal Darren Pais.
“The hardest positions to hire are for the middle school,” he said. “Those teachers are required to be certified in specific content areas. For instance, our 7th grade math teacher is required to have a certification in math 5-9 or 6-12. That is a very specific need, and the teacher shortage makes it comparable to looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Russell said the district’s new strategy is to focus on hiring local talent, since those candidates usually already have housing. To that end, staff has also held eight local job fairs since May throughout the county, putting up a tent to hand out notices of the openings at locations such as Baby’s Coffee on Sugarloaf Key.
“We’ve left no leaf unturned,” said Russell. “We impress upon people that we have competitive paying jobs with benefits. Those are the types of things that may make a difference.”
The efforts of district staff to address the shortage have not gone unseen.
“I tip my hat to the superintendent and the staff,” said school board member Bobby Highsmith. “They are working hard. … I think every person in our school district has always worked very hard to deliver the best possible education, going above and beyond”
School principals have a plan in place in case some openings are not filled. “We are working on utilizing all school personnel and long-term substitutes to cover the positions that are open on the first day,” said Key West High School principal Larry Schmiegel. “Having a prepared teacher in front of the students each day is our priority.”
Schmiegel is also staying posi-
tive.
“We are excited to welcome students back on Aug. 10,” he wrote Keys Weekly in an email. “Our theme this school year is ‘Rise as one! Rise as Conchs!’ It is our hope as a school family to persevere despite these staffing challenges with the support of our most seasoned educators. Our students deserve the absolute best and that is what we strive to provide. In the meantime, if parents have any questions they can contact our main office at 305-293-1549.”
POSITIVE DENGUE CASE CAME OUTSIDE MONROE COUNTY
Health department, mosquito control continue prevention efforts
JIM McCARTHY
jim@keysweekly.com
County health officials said an individual tested positive for dengue fever in Monroe County on July 25. The Florida Department of Health said it was a travel-related case, meaning the person didn’t contract the virus locally.
“They got it outside of Monroe and got tested here in Monroe County,” said Alison Kerr, spokeswoman for Monroe DOH.
No reports of dengue fever have been seen in the Florida Keys this year. However, the health department and Florida Keys Mosquito Control District said they continue to provide surveillance and prevention efforts throughout Keys communities.
A dengue outbreak in the Keys was last seen in June 2020, when cases began to sprout up in the Key Largo area. Some 56 people were infected with dengue that year.
Dengue fever is not contagious. Rather, it’s spread by a bite from an infected aedes aegypti mosquito. Common symptoms include headache, eye pain, muscle joint or bone pain, nausea and unusual bleeding.
Health and mosquito control officials urge residents to help prevent mosquitoes from multiplying by remembering to drain any standing water on the property. People should also cover their skin by wearing long sleeves and applying mosquito repellent.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District said inspectors are available to help rid properties of existing mosquitoes as well as assist you with mosquito prevention assistance during the rainy season ahead. Please call them at 305-2927190 or go to www.keysmosquito. org to make a service request.
CONE BATTLE
Council tussles over the Fills barriers again
JIM McCARTHY
jim@keysweekly.com
Orange cones spanning the Fills will remain in place following a lengthy conversation among Islamorada council members on whether to remove them and rely on no-parking signs.
Councilman Mark Gregg took a moment during a recent village council meeting to hear out Vice Mayor Henry Rosenthal’s desire for months to remove the barricades situated along the Fills. Initially set up to keep vehicles from parking all over the place, Rosenthal said he’s received phone calls from those who want the cones gone.
“First of all when you travel down the Fills, for the most part there’s no illegal parking,” Rosenthal said.
No-parking signs with a $200 fine are placed throughout the area. Not only does Rosenthal want more no-parking signs, but he also proposed adding a “meter maid” to write tickets to parking violators.
“I wanted to get rid of those cones and tape. That’s a very poor representation of this city,” Rosenthal said. “With the proper enforcement, it can be done. I want to clean it up and make it look like something.”
Discussions regarding the Fills date back many years, as several councils tussled with a solution. Last month, the council heard A.J. Engelmeyer, public works director, discuss a plan for the three islands connecting Upper and Lower Matecumbe keys. Among the proposals were guardrails, delineated parking with deceleration lanes and kayak launches.
Islamorada received a sublease from Florida Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection in 2019 to manage the property on the Fills. It came following outcry about cars parked all over the place, littering and safety concerns, particularly during weekends and holidays. The Fills include Tea Table Relief, Indian and Lignumvitae keys.
Four village staff members in vehicles watch the three islands that make up the Fills during weekends for cars parking in wrong areas. Engelmeyer said the number of motorists his staff runs out is “astronomical.”
“There’s a lead guy to check the other crew mates. They’re sitting in zones where people constantly are parking. They’re in vehicles running cars off,” he said.
In 2019-2020, the village spent $112,000 on maintaining the Fills. That amount to maintain and manage the area rose to $281,000 in 2020-21. This year, the village has spent $133,000.
Gregg said removing the cones would create more demand for enforcement. He also referenced an email sent to village officials and law enforcement regarding a resident’s complaint at Robbie’s over parking on the right of way. Sheriff Rick Ramsay responded to the email by citing the village’s parking statute that essentially allows parking on the right of way, so long as it doesn’t create a safety hazard.
“The right of way includes the Fills,” he said. “If someone wants to park in the right of way that doesn’t block the bike path or obstruct traffic, then it’s not illegal parking and we can’t write them a ticket. That’s a concern to me,” Gregg said.
Those issued parking tickets at the Fills aren’t always paying them, either, Gregg said. And there’s no enforcement mechanism.
“We don’t take them to court. We don’t have a collection agency that hounds them for payment. It’s just a pile,” Gregg said.
Councilman David Webb said people will show up — and issues once seen at the Fills will come back — if the cones and tapes come down at the Fills. Webb said the sheriff’s office recommended against taking down the barriers. That was confirmed by Capt. Derek Paul.
“It’s manageable right now. The cones are working,” he said. “When a deputy is driving through, or myself, not a day goes by that we don’t pull over and tell them they have to move. I don’t write them a ticket for it, they get in their car and move. Ninety-five percent of the time they say ‘sorry’ and leave.”
A car passes through the Fills in Islamorada. DAVID GROSS/Keys Weekly
AAA: Gas prices drop 17 cents
Florida gas prices dropped an average of 17 cents per gallon last week. It was the largest weekly decline since gas prices began falling six weeks ago.
The state average has now declined a total of 79 cents per gallon, since setting a new record high of $4.89 per gallon in midJune. On July 24, the state average was $4.10 per gallon, yet drivers are finding pump prices well below $4 a gallon in some regions. At the rate pump prices are declining, the state average could slip below $4 a gallon this week, for the first time since March 6.
The cost to fill an average 15-gallon tank of gas has declined nearly $12 since mid-June. When prices were at their peak, it cost an average of $73 for a fill-up. Now, it's about $61.50.
Several businesses cited for selling alcohol to minors
On July 21, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division along with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco conducted an operation checking businesses that sell alcohol in the Upper Keys. Eight businesses were checked; four sold alcohol to a minor during the investigation.
The following businesses sold the alcohol: • Circle K gas station, 106501 Overseas Highway, Key Largo. • Marathon gas station, 106200 Overseas Highway, Key Largo. • Valero gas station, 99675 Overseas Highway, Key Largo. • Denny’s Liquors, 99600 Overseas Highway, Key Largo.
The store clerks at each location were issued a notice to appear in court for the sale of alcohol to a minor. The maximum penalties for these violations are up to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine, $235 in court costs, $75 in cost of prosecution, and $40 in cost of investigation against the sales clerk.
The licensee violations are $1,000 and a seven-day suspension for the first offense; $3,000 and a 30-day suspension on the second offense and revocation of license on the third offense.
The remaining businesses checked were in compliance with the law. This operation was conducted in cooperation with the Monroe County Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Community.
