GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. – Clay County District Schools Superintendent David Broskie says the district is well-positioned heading into the new school year, with students set to return Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Broskie sat down with The Morning Show to walk families through what to expect on the first day and beyond — from staffing and transportation to safety and a new parent communication app.
Staffing, bus drivers
With roughly 5,000 employees, the district is heading into the school year with approximately 35 teacher openings — a number Broskie described as within normal range.
On the transportation side, Clay County has just six bus driver vacancies — a figure that stands out favorably against a difficult national and statewide hiring environment.
“There’s a nationwide shortage, and certainly a shortage in Florida, so we do pretty well there,” Broskie said. “It’s a very challenging environment — people with a CDL can do a lot of jobs.”
First-day expectations
Broskie said families should expect the typical first-week adjustment period, noting that traffic and logistics tend to smooth out after the opening two weeks of school.
“You have 40,000 families all on the road at the same time,” he said. “The bumps are usually everybody’s settling in. The first two weeks there’s this settling-in period as families find out their travel plans and what they’re doing and everybody kind of settles in.”
Now in his 38th year in education, Broskie said the two-week adjustment window seems to be consistent across school systems.
Transportation registration, bus prep
For families who missed the district’s extended bus registration deadline, Broskie said it is not too late to sign up.
Families who used transportation the previous year are automatically expected to continue.
“If you had transportation last year, we’re anticipating that you’re gonna be on the bus this year,” he said.
Broskie also noted that yellow buses spotted on roads before Aug. 11 are simply drivers completing training runs — not an early start to the school year.
New parent app: One Clay Focus
Clay County is rolling out a new app, OneClay Focus, replacing the previous Parent View platform. The app gives parents access to student grades, schedules and other academic data.
“This will be very similar to Parent View last year,” Broskie said. “It’s where you’re gonna find grades on your students, their schedules, all of the data related to your students. If you haven’t done so, please do so.”
You can find a link to download the app for Android and iOS here.
Families can also visit oneclay.net/backtoschool for answers to common back-to-school questions.
The district will continue using App2G as its primary mass communication tool, unchanged from the prior school year.
School safety
Broskie said Clay County’s safety posture remains strong heading into the new year, anchored by a partnership with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
“We have guardians as well as officers in all of our schools,” he said, adding that physical safeguards such as single-entry access points are also in place. “There’s always a culture of if you see something, say something when it comes to safety.”
A message for families
Broskie encouraged parents to talk with their children about the first days of school, acknowledging that nerves are a natural part of the transition.
“Nothing as superintendent is more exciting than when you see the smile on a young person’s face when they show up for the first day of school — it’s one of the reasons why I do what I do,” he said. “It’s totally normal for a young one to be nervous about going back to school.”
He said many students, however, are eager to reconnect with friends and return to their routines.
“I see students get out of cars on that first day and barely look back and wave at their parents — they’re so glad to get back,” Broskie said.