Beaufort County goes back to school — now with more teachers
Following years of staffing questions, the Beaufort County School District says its newest hiring initiatives have put more teachers into local classrooms.
One key to the solution: Pay the teachers more.
Teacher vacancies across the county’s 30-plus public schools dropped more than 50% since the start of the 2024-25 academic year, according to district spokesperson Candace Bruder. Local schools kicked off the upcoming year on Wednesday with only 11 classroom vacancies and 22 other certified staff positions left unfilled, representing less than 2% of the district’s 1,800 positions.
Teachers get a pay bump
The higher-than-usual staffing numbers follow a string of new hiring and retention initiatives in the district, including raising teachers’ starting salary to $60,087 — a $9,000 increase — for the 2025-26 academic year. The salary bump was the primary aim of the school district’s $17.8 million budget increase this year, which was approved by Beaufort County Council in June.
That upgraded paygrade makes Beaufort County teachers some of the highest-paid public school educators in the state, Bruder said.
Other incentives include a 6% salary supplement for all special education teachers, which is entering its second year in effect. Certified staff also receive a yearly $1,500 “locality supplement” to account for the high cost of living in the Hilton Head Island area, part of an incentive program started by the county about a decade ago.
District officials say these changes reflect the need for competitive pay that will attract skilled educators to the county.
In a March interview, superintendent of Beaufort County schools Frank Rodriguez said the district’s biggest challenge was “finding teachers.”
“This isn’t just a Beaufort County challenge, this is a nationwide challenge,” Rodriguez added, citing the historic decrease in students pursuing careers in education. “As all districts across the country are competing for personnel, that’s one of those things that is an increasing challenge for school districts because there are fewer and fewer people going into the profession.
Beaufort County’s challenges aren’t unique
Like countless other school systems in South Carolina and nationwide, Beaufort County has grappled with teacher shortages in recent years.
The district has been forced to begin certain academic years with dozens of roles still unfilled for teachers, administrators and bus drivers — but the latest data suggests the county’s newest initiatives are helping to chip away at lingering vacancy issues.
Bruder said the transportation department began the 2025-26 academic year with all its bus routes covered. Many local school districts, including in the neighboring Jasper County, regularly struggle to hire enough bus drivers. This difficulty is attributable in part to the proliferation of delivery services that offer competitive wages.
The Beaufort County School District is currently accepting applications for dozens of vacancies across certified and non-certified positions, according to its recruitment page.
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 3:58 PM.
