Hernando County is facing the possibility of a teacher shortage in a few years.
About one-third of the district's teachers will be eligible for retirement in the next few years.
"It's a concern, certainly not a panic," district human resources director Sarah Meaker said.
Meaker says they will need a couple hundred new teachers over the next few years.
"It is something, as a district, we do need to start to plan for and think about as we move down the road," she said.
It's not going to be an easy task. Meaker says a lot of younger people look for bigger pay checks as the economy gets back on track.
Hernando County also has to compete with other districts in the area that pay more. The average teacher salary in Hernando is close to $44,000 a year. In Pasco it's around $47,000.
Carmine Rufa is the principal at Springstead High School. He's doing double duty and heading to New York on a recruiting trip for the district. His school alone will need at least 14 teachers over the next two years.
"Math and science, guidance counselors, ESE," he said. "We just need teachers."
The need for teachers is not unique to Hernando County. Other districts in the Bay area need teachers, including neighboring Citrus County, which needs math and science teachers.