The Cherokee County School District will look to fill many of its 19 teacher vacancies today when the state teacher expo gets underway in Columbia.

Personnel director Andy Jones is among representatives from 55 of the state's 85 school districts who will spend the day attending the 18th annual South Carolina Expo for Teacher Recruitment. The event is a nonprofit job fair held so teacher recruiters can share information about their districts and talk with potential applicants about known and anticipated vacancies.

"We are looking for math and science teachers, particularly on the secondary level. We still need a couple of special education teachers and a school psychologist," Jones said. "School districts are starting their teacher recruiting earlier each year. The expo is a good place to speak with teachers about job openings."

About 1,500 teachers from 38 states and several foreign countries are expected to attend this year's teacher expo at the Moore Building on the South Carolina Fairgrounds. The expo is the only statewide teacher job and information fair held in South Carolina.

There is a statewide teacher shortage in virtually every subject area, including the math and science teachers sought by the Cherokee County School District. Teachers are in demand statewide to teach classes in middle schools, business, special education, foreign language, music and media specialists.

Some school districts in Spartanburg and Charlotte have resorted in recent years to offering teachers signing bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.

"We want to attract the best teachers possible to fill vacancies. The best teachers are usually the first ones to get hired," Jones said. "We have been fortunate we haven't had to go towards offering incentives such as signing bonuses yet."