A record number of St. Johns County School District employees filed May resignations, as the district and teachers’ union remain at an impasse over pay negotiations.

Local students have been back in classrooms for about a month now, but school districts are still having trouble filling teacher vacancies.

The Friday edition of the St. Johns County School District’s COVID-19 report showed 515 students were confirmed positive cases of the coronavirus and 161 were quarantined.

The president of the teachers union in St. Johns County said the reaction among teachers has been mixed after the school district put in place a mask mandate for all school employees this week.

Last year, if teachers had to miss work to get a coronavirus test or were forced to quarantine due to possible exposure, their salary was covered by funding from the federal government’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act. But since that expired, districts have been left to figure things out on their own.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Due to staffing issues, some St. Johns County teachers have been leading both virtual students and in-person students at the same time in the midst of the pandemic. Now, as the number of students enrolled in school-based virtual learning has declined, that’s about to change, for some teachers. The St. Johns County School District said it has started to move some teachers away from the dual-platform teaching model. AdMost of the changes involve elementary school teachers, said Associate Superintendent Dawn Sapp. And the superintendent listened, and the school board listened,” said Michelle Dillon, president of the teachers union.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The St. Johns County School District and teachers union on Tuesday reached an agreement on COVID-19 leave for teachers. Under the agreement, teachers can take up to eight days of paid leave if they are forced to take time off for coronavirus-related reasons. The district and the union had to put the new rules in place after part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ended on Dec. 31. “We are pleased we were able to reach an agreement,” St. Johns Education Association President Michelle Dillon said. The agreement states that if the act is reinstated under the newly installed President Joe Biden administration, those rules would supersede the district agreement.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – School leaders in St. Johns County want to know where families stand on distance learning and whether those students will be returning to the classroom any time soon. In an email to St. Johns County families on Wednesday, Superintendent Tim Forson announced the district would no longer allow families to move students from brick-and-mortar learning to the school-based virtual learning format unless there’s a serious health risk involved. Forson said the constant movement in and out of learning models is creating a challenge for staff, particularly teachers. Students might still test positive or join the 665 St. Johns County students who are currently in quarantine. News4Jax asked the district if the option for school-based distance learning will expire in December with the emergency order but a spokesperson did not reply before this story was published.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – As of last week, there have been 37 staff members in St. Johns County that have either tested positive or been asked to quarantine due to close contact with a positive case. That has led to concerns that the loss of teachers and staff could result in a lack of available teachers in the school district, but a district spokesperson told News4Jax on Thursday there is no shortage of substitute teachers to go around. The district said there are 720 substitute teachers in its substitute teacher pool as of Thursday. St. Johns County Superintendent Tim Forson has said that maintaining enough substitute teachers will be an important issue this school year during the pandemic. President of the St. Johns County teachers union said that almost one-third of substitute teachers heading into the year were over the age of 65.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. The superintendent of the St. Johns County School District is urging parents to alleviate some of the workloads of teachers engaged in simultaneous instruction. This has been the most challenging start to a school year that we have ever faced, Superintendent Tim Forson said Wednesday in a letter published to the districts website. They are taking the work home with them for hours, they are not spending time with their family and friends.In Forsons letter addressing the issue, he asked parents to understand the challenge those teachers are facing. Your childs teacher is tasked with preparing variations in lessons because students are on two platforms, Forsons letter said. Read the full text of Forsons letter below:

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. One week into the new school year, some St. Johns County school teachers are saying they are not happy with how things are going so far. The head of the local teachers union said Tuesday the current set-up is leaving them overworked and frustrated. The main issue, according to teachers, is simultaneous learning, said Michelle Dillon who heads the St. Johns County Education Association. Thats when a teacher is instructing students in the classroom and streaming classes online at the same time. Teachers are going to have to have the ability to fail at something to try to make it better, Forson added.

In case you missed it, News4JAX on Thursday hosted its first Facing The Fall Virtual Town Hall to get answers from Duval County schools decision makers about how theyre approaching the upcoming school year. RELATED: Replay the first Facing The Fall Virtual Town Hall hereWere pleased to announce we have a second virtual town hall planned for Tuesday. News4JAX anchor Melanie Lawson and education reporter Joe McLean will host and moderate that town hall. That town hall will kick off at 10 a.m. Tuesday. We need your help, so if you have questions about the upcoming school year, youre welcome to submit them, even anonymously, using the form above.

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. - A year after receiving their biggest raise in eight years, teachers in St. Johns County are poised for another big pay bump. The St. Johns County School District agreed last month to put an additional $4.8 million toward teacher salaries which will give some teachers a $2,000 bump in their yearly pay. "This raise will help to recruit and retain teachers," said Michelle Dillon, St. Johns Education Association President. According to state data, teachers in St. Johns County, hailed as one of the best-performing school districts in the state, made an average of $47,347 for the 2018-19 school year. Dillon said the pay raise is especially important for teachers in St. Johns County where the cost of living is higher than in nearby counties.