Last year, physics teacher Sadije Redsovick resigned at the end of the first quarter, leaving students with a permanent substitute teacher. Now, history has repeated itself as physics teacher George Mabry has departed from Robinson for a new job with just a few weeks to go until semester exams.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say he quit, I would say he chose a more lucrative opportunity,”  assistant principal Jennifer Rosage said. “People of science backgrounds oftentimes have opportunities outside of education that pay a lot more money.”

The school is currently attempting to find a replacement for Mabry, and has had three applicants so far, but two did not make it through Hillsborough county’s vetting process.

“We currently have a new applicant that has to go through the district’s vetting process,” Rosage said. “They look far more promising than the first two.”

In the meantime, Mabry’s students have a permanent substitute through January, but many of them are worried about how his absence will affect their preparedness for the semester exam.

“We didn’t really get taught that much, and, now… we kind of have to learn things on our own,” Brianna Edwards (’20) said.

The students have yet to receive their exam reviews, and are trying to determine what they need to study.

“We’re trying to learn the material that we need before the exam without knowing what we need to know. So it’s kind of hard,” Lelia Bouabdelli (’20) said.

However, Rosage says that Mabry’s students will be receiving their physics exam reviews soon.

“Those things are provided by the district and it’s standard,” she said. “The department head has been corresponding with the supervisors from the district to make sure that they have the appropriate review and they have an answer key.”

Robinson’s difficulty keeping a physics teacher is emblematic of a larger problem retaining teachers throughout Hillsborough county. And without an increase in teacher salaries, it is likely to continue happening.

“That’s one of the things we’ve always had to deal with in education,” Rosage said. “We don’t pay a teacher what they might make in the business world.”

Managing Editor Morgan Brazier contributed to this story.