LADY LAKE, Fla. — Now that the school year has ended in Central Florida, many school districts are scrambling to try to fill hundreds of teacher vacancies by the end of summer.

For many teachers, the profession is a calling.

“If I can help these kids get started and find that joy for reading, man, that’s the best,” said Villages Elementary School teacher Jamie Perna.

But Perna said that feeling is not strong enough to keep her in her first-grade classroom at Villages Elementary School.

Fifteen years after she started, Perna said she is finished with teaching.

“I am fighting so hard to keep this job — I just became burnt out," she said. "It was a heartbreaking decision, one that I’m still coming to terms with.” 

Perna isn’t alone.

As Lake County rushes to fill its 118 open teaching positions, it is competing with school districts in the rest of the region.

These are the number of vacancies at several Central Florida districts. They include support staff and administration, in addition to open teacher positions.

• Lake County — 220 openings (118 teacher openings)
• Osceola County — 387 openings
• Orange County  — 220 openings
• Marion County — 216 openings

“It is difficult because we’re competing (with other districts)," said Lake County Public Schools instructional recruiter Quiana Peterson. "Candidates have options more than ever now. I think people from all different industries see the value with teachers now, not just education — companies and colleges and institutions — which historically is where we would see all those ed candidates.” 

Perna said she will miss her students, but couldn’t keep going. She said legislation like the Parental Rights in Education bill and overall lack of respect for teachers were just a few reasons why she decided to leave the teaching profession.

The legislation, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by opponents, prohibits classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation and gives parents and the Florida Department of Education the power to review and scrutinize school materials.

“Pay, of course, always, but I would tell you that’s not at the top,” Perna said. “The biggest thing I will tell you is the lack of respect and putting more and more and more on everyone’s plate.”

As Perna closes this chapter of her life, she said she still loves teaching and hopes people can start trusting teachers to do what they do best: teach.