How bad is the school shortage? Thousands of NC school jobs are unfilled
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Staff level down, stress level up
North Carolina’s colleges and universities are graduating fewer prospective teachers, and principals say they’re getting fewer applicants for openings. Why? Many schools have dealt with staffing shortages by asking remaining employees to do more. No one thinks that solution is sustainable. What is the reason behind the mass staff shortage challenge? This is The N&O’s special report.
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‘How long can we sustain this?’ Stress is elevated as NC schools face staffing shortages
How bad is the school shortage? Thousands of NC school jobs are unfilled
‘Exhausted.’ ‘Overworked.’ ‘Defeated.’ Wake teachers describe this challenging year
Want to fix the school staff shortage in North Carolina? Pay your staff.
Schools historically have had difficulties filling some positions, such as school bus drivers and special-education teachers. But school officials are reporting that the problem is more severe now.
For instance, 77% of district leaders and principals across the United States said they’re experiencing at least moderate staffing shortages, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey published in October.
School bus drivers needed
School bus drivers have been in particularly short supply.
More than half of the respondents (51%) described their driver shortage as “severe” or “desperate,” according to a nationwide survey released in August by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services and the National School Transportation Association.
More than two-thirds of district leaders and principals (68%) said in the EdWeek survey that they’ve struggled to hire enough bus drivers
The EdWeek survey also showed major problems filling other school positions, including substitute teachers, instructional aides, full-time teachers, cafeteria workers and custodians.
The situation in North Carolina
North Carolina is certainly feeling the nationwide school staffing problems.
Survey results from September showed nearly 1,300 bus driver vacancies across the state, according to the N.C. Principals and Assistant Principals Association.
The survey also found 2,600 teacher vacancies were reported in the state, with high school, STEM and Exceptional Children positions being hardest to fill.
The staffing issues with hourly employees are particularly straining schools, according to Shirley Prince, executive director of the N.C. Principals and Assistant Principals Association.
“Districts, regardless of size and resources, cannot compete with retail stores and other businesses offering higher wages and a far lower health risk,” Prince wrote in a press release.
For instance, Paula Wright, a special-education instructional assistant, makes $13.61 an hour after eight years in Wake County.
“We deserve better,” Wright told the school board this month. “We need to be paid more than a Walmart employee, more than a Costco employee and more than Chik-fil-A.”
“We need to fix this problem so our staff is not having to work two and three jobs to support their families.”
Wake County vacancies
Wake County, which is North Carolina’s largest school system, is struggling with staffing shortages despite offering bonuses to new and existing staff.
As of Nov. 1, Wake had a 20.8% vacancy rate for child nutrition workers, 19.4% for bus drivers, 13% for special-education instructional assistants and 11.1% overall for instructional assistants.
“There’s no question that we’re seeing more vacancies now than a typical November,” AJ Muttillo, Wake’s assistant superintendent for human resources, said in an interview.
Wake is reporting a 3% vacancy rate for teachers, or 354 positions.
But Muttillo said the vacancy rate would typically be closer to 1% at this time of the year.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How bad is the school shortage? Thousands of NC school jobs are unfilled."
