DeKalb Schools holding job fair to help fill nearly 300 teacher vacancies

The DeKalb County School District is still looking to fill nearly 300 positions ahead of the first day of school, which is Aug. 7. (FILE PHOTO)

The DeKalb County School District is still looking to fill nearly 300 positions ahead of the first day of school, which is Aug. 7. (FILE PHOTO)

The DeKalb County School District will hold another job fair Thursday as it continues to fill hundreds of vacancies ahead of the new school year.

The fair will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at Martin Luther King Jr. High School, at 3991 Snapfinger Road in Lithonia.

With the start of the 2017-2018 school year less than 30 days away, district officials are still looking to hire 271 teachers. Last year, the district sought to fill about 100 more positions.

District officials said during Monday’s monthly Board of Education meeting they had 438 teacher resignations in the last reporting period, which included the end of the fiscal year. According to exit interview information, 103 left for another teaching job in Georgia, 135 did not sign the contract they received for the 2017-2018 school year and 10 left teaching altogether.

District officials say teacher retention has improved over the last year, which has left them with fewer positions to fill.

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