The Jefferson Parish Public Schools system has 140 teacher openings ahead of the first day of school. At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, the district had 200 teacher vacancies. According to Superintendent James Gray, the district vacancies are higher compared to other districts since they are a much larger school district. Gray says the district has hired more than 100 new or returning teachers over the summer. The superintendent says data shows the biggest trend in teachers quitting is pay. In response, the board approved a five percent raise for certified teachers that will go into effect this school year. Gray says a pay raise was made possible after recently consolidating schools. "We knew that eventually we would have to try to figure out how to increase our salaries. We want to be efficient as we possibly can, that is how consolidation came into play, to make sure we're being as fiscally responsible as we can with our funding so we can generate a raise on our own, I think that is what helped us reduce our numbers from last year to this year. We definitely have to figure out what this future looks like," said Gray. Gray says at average a school is short one or two teachers. The district is partnering with an online tutoring company that provide teachers for classrooms with vacancies. Schools are also hiring retired teachers and offering an in-house teacher certification program. In September schools will roll out a new app that will allow parents to track their child on the school bus.