The focus of the Gloucester County School Board’s August meeting, held Tuesday evening in the T.C. Walker Education Center auditorium, was reviewing summer projects and preparing for the first day of school. The district welcomed back staff this week, while students are scheduled to start the 2026-2027 school year on Monday, Aug. 24. “We are lower than the vacancy rate statewide,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Amy Stamm. Gloucester County Public Schools has only a 0.8 percent teacher vacancy rate, while the state vacancy rate average is 2.5 percent. Gloucester High School has 5.5 teaching positions that need to be filled, followed by Abingdon Elementary School with two and Achilles and Botetourt elementary schools with one vacancy each. As for support staffing, there are five paraprofessional vacancies, two vacancies in custodial services and one bus driving position that need to be filled. Interviews are currently ongoing for the open support staff positions. A substitute tea...