SACRAMENTO – As the school year comes to a close, the job of making sure there are enough teachers for next year begins.

For years, California has struggled with a teacher shortage and that's led to some local districts boosting salaries and benefits.

"We need about 110 teachers right now," said Tiffany Smith-Simmons, the Sacramento Unified School District director of talent management. 

The SUSD is trying to find enough staff before school resumes in the fall. They're also looking for other positions, like instructional aids, bus drivers, campus monitors and custodians.

"We probably have just under 300 total job openings," Smith-Simmons said.

The district held a job fair Friday afternoon, a one-stop shop for candidates that includes interviews on the spot, along with medical testing and fingerprinting.

"A lot of job fairs aren't quite as proactive in the way of on-site interviews and things like that," said applicant David Gustavson. 

So what's the starting salary for a teacher in Sacramento right now?

"$62,000 for a teacher," Smith-Simmons said.

But the school district's biggest selling point may be the benefits, which include 100% health care coverage and 71 days off each year.

"You have two weeks off in December for winter break, we have a week off for spring break, we also have a fall break in November," Smith-Simmons said.

"That's great, that's one of the reasons why because you can travel in the summer and then go back to work you don't have to worry about requesting time off for Christmas or Thanksgiving," said applicant Maya Kesselring-Bursby.

California is now starting to make progress in solving the teacher shortage crisis. For the first time since the pandemic, the number of new teaching credentials is up,  growing 18% this year.

Sacramento's district said it's determined to have enough qualified educators by the time classes start in August.

"Each classroom will be fully staffed with a fully credentialed teacher," Smith-Simmons said.

Part of the job fair was also dedicated towards offering entry-level jobs to the district's 2,700 high school seniors who graduate next week.