Baltimore County Public Schools students have one week left before summer break is officially over.

That means school officials are gearing up for the return of 108,000 students on Aug. 31. They seem to be in pretty good shape, according to Bill Heiser, the district’s new superintendent. He gave news media and county officials a rundown of teacher vacancies, completed school construction projects, school bus driver shortages and more on Monday morning.

Here’s a look at where the district stands a week before school starts:

34.6

That’s the number of unfilled teacher jobs around the school district as of Friday, the superintendent said. It’s a huge improvement from four years ago, when teacher vacancies were in the triple digits around this time of year. However, hundreds of positions have been cut since then.

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Heiser said that out of the districts’ 174 schools, 143 have no vacancies, and nine schools have two or fewer.

54

That’s the number of schools that maintenance staff worked on over the summer, which means that HVAC systems, parking lots, roofs and boilers got repairs. Three school construction projects took place, Heiser said.

40,843

That’s the number of citations police issued to drivers who passed Baltimore County school buses that had their stop signs extended and lights flashing last school year. Cameras were installed on all school buses two years ago to catch drivers who broke the law.

When a bus has its lights flashing and stop sign extended cars on both sides of the street must stop for students who are getting off and on. That doesn’t always happen. Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough called the number of last year’s citations “startling.”

“And it underscores why we need every driver to slow down, stay alert and understand when they are required to stop,” he said.

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50

Speaking of buses, Heiser said the system is 50 school bus drivers short on Monday.

“Even though you may have vacancies, they have very creative ways to make sure those routes are covered,” he said.

103

That’s he number of schools that saw improvement on the English standardized test compared to last year. State test scores were released late last month, and while Baltimore County’s English and math scores were below the state average, it’s the third consecutive year in which students improved on the test.

148

That’s how many schools reduced chronic absenteeism. The term refers to students who missed 18 or more days of class in a school year. A couple of years ago, Maryland struggled with attendance. A little more than a third of Baltimore County students missed too much school in 2022-23.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.