BEAUFORT COUNTY, SC () — School starts Wednesday in Beaufort County, and it begins with good news about staffing in schools.

The Beaufort County School District says it has the lowest numbers of teacher vacancies in years.

That’s in part to a recent pay bump, as beginning salaries are increasing by $9,000 to $60,000 a year. That makes Beaufort County one of the highest paying in the state and gives the school system a better chance to hire and keep teachers.

Beaufort County School Superintendent Frank Rodriguez said, “The objective is attracting high quality educators. And then we continue to support their work and initiatives, provide them with a high-quality curriculum material to utilize in their classrooms and then focus on the quality instruction within the classroom for students.”

Rodriguez said one of the biggest steps forward is within the district’s career training programs for students who want to look toward alternatives to college.

They are focused on the growth of AI, leading to the addition of a program at Bluffton High School to learn more about it and how to use the programs to benefit schools and students.

Money is still on the mind of the district, with questions about the dissolution of the Federal Department of Education and potential funding for programs like special needs and after-school.

Rodriguez said he can only focus on the things he can change, and not the future questions.

“Something is going to happen,” Rodriguez said. “But what is it and what does that look like? And then that impacts school districts on a local level. It will impact our state as they take on additional responsibilities. And it will impact school districts as things shift. And so, it’s sort of the unknown that is, at the moment, the greatest challenge.”

Beaufort County schools will offer free breakfast and lunch for students who qualify in 2025-26 school year.

The money for after school programs was just released by the federal government. The district does not believe those programs will be affected this school year.