Have you seen this sign?  If you have, you must be in Florida. 

The teacher shortage at the Fort Worth ISD has caused it to expand its horizon all the way to the Sunshine State looking for a few hundred good teachers.

That's right. The Fort Worth school district needs teachers, and it has its eyes on Florida, a state usually known as a net importer of teachers that only two years ago launched a $2.5-million national recruiting drive of its own.

But that was when Florida was moving ahead with its class-size reduction effort and looked flush with jobs and money to hire.

These days, the state Legislature has chopped $332-million from schools, put class-size reduction on hiatus and even cut a bonus program for National Board-certified teachers.

Read entire story here.

The advertising seems to be working with the FWISD reporting that it is receiving hundred of applications from prospective teachers who are looking to escape Florida's high cost of living and poor pay.  Some Florida districts are countering back by trying avoid the 2% cut that has been proposed.  But the best that Florida teachers can expect is to receive no pay increases for the foreseeable future. 

The low salaries along with high accountablity standards have caused many Florida teachers to begin searching for jobs in states where the pay is more competitive.  Among the incentives that Fort Worth is offering is a $3,000 signing bonus  and merit pay if they are assigned to struggling schools. 

"We don't have an ocean," district spokesman Clint Bond said. "But there's one within a day's drive."