As of this week, Harford County Public Schools has 179 open positions, including teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians and bus drivers.

The first day of classes for the 2024-2025 school year is Sept. 3.

The number of vacancies is 18 higher than at this time last year. However, Kyle Anderson, public information specialist at Harford schools, said the vacancies are not a cause for concern as the school system continues to hire year-round.

As of Aug. 1, Harford schools has 20 open teaching positions, 50 paraeducator openings, 32 inclusion helper openings and 41 custodian openings. Additionally, Harford has 19 vacancies for special education bus drivers and 17 vacancies for special education bus attendants.

This time last year, Harford had 36 teacher openings, 32 paraeducator openings, 27 inclusion helper openings and 30 custodian openings.

General bus transportation for Harford is mainly handled by contractors, Anderson said, and school officials do not anticipate any issues covering bus routes for the coming school year given the current bus driver vacancies.

Bus stop and route information will be released to families on Aug. 19.

School officials did not cite a reason for the increase in the number of vacant positions, but did confirm that the school system is in a position to hire and fill the positions should they find qualified applicants.

“While we continue to hire dedicated professionals to join our team — including teachers, paraeducators, custodians, bus drivers, attendants, and inclusion helpers — this will not impact the quality of learning as we start the new school year,” said Superintendent Sean Bulson. “Our focus remains on delivering an enriching experience for all students from day one.”

Open positions are listed in the Employment Opportunities section on the school system’s main website and on Facebook at Harford County Public Schools Recruitment. For information about employment with the school system’s transportation team, call 410-638-4092.

Parents can visit hcps.org/parents to access forms and back-to-school information, as well as Canvas, which allows parents and guardians to follow classroom progress and see important dates.