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Wake schools need 400 more teachers before traditional-calendar students return

The Wake County school system needs to hire 401 teachers and hundreds of support staff less than two weeks before the start of traditional-calendar schools.

The school system released figures showing that there were 958 vacancies for teachers, instructional assistants, bus drivers and cafeteria workers as of Aug. 12. But AJ Muttillo, Wake’s assistant superintendent for human resources, said the 3.38% vacancy rate among Wake’s 11,851 teachers is comparable to last school year.

“It’s not unusual for us to be still hiring and still trying to fill vacancies at this time of year,” Muttillo said during a news briefing on Wednesday at the new Barton Pond Elementary School in Raleigh.

“While those numbers, just shy of 97%, may sound good for some organizations, we know that for us even one vacancy means a classroom without a teacher or critical support staff. We’re working as hard as we can to continue to fill those vacancies and become even more staffed.”

Substitutes will staff classrooms until a permanent teacher is hired.

Barton Pond Elementary School teachers Kelly Harris, center, and Kathy Livengood, right, work with fellow teachers as they develop a welcoming slogan during a group exercise on their first teacher work day on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 in Raleigh, N.C.
Barton Pond Elementary School teachers Kelly Harris, center, and Kathy Livengood, right, work with fellow teachers as they develop a welcoming slogan during a group exercise on their first teacher work day on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 in Raleigh, N.C.

‘Great Resignation’ concerns

Wake’s hiring update comes after schools across the nation faced staffing shortages last school year that forced the remaining workers to do more to fill the gap. Principals have been hiring for the new school year amid concerns about how many school employees will leave during the “Great Resignation.”

In this year’s North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey, 7% of teachers said they intend to leave the profession. That compares to 4% in 2020.

Last month, an assistant principal’s Facebook post went viral after she said it would be “delusional” to think they’ll find highly qualified people in the next 3.5 weeks to fill 967 Wake County teacher openings.

At the time, school officials said the assistant principal had counted all the listings on AppliTrack, the site where Wake’s job postings are listed. But Wake said AppliTrack was still listing jobs that have been filled but not yet removed from the site.

Vacancy rates vary

Wake’s vacancy rate varies by position. For instance, it’s 30.16% for bus drivers, 12.5% for child nutrition workers and 6.77% for instructional assistants.

Wake, which is North Carolina’s largest school district, has 266 vacancies among its 881 bus driver positions.

The vacancy rate for bus drivers is so high that fewer buses will be picking up students each day. It will lead to longer bus rides and more crowded conditions on the remaining buses.

“Let’s keep in mind we’re not the only ones looking for drivers,” Mark Strickland, Wake’s chief of facilities and operations, said Wednesday. “It’s not only a Wake County Public Schools issue, it’s also one that’s statewide and national as well.”

Even among teachers and instructional assistants, the vacancy rate varies. It’s much higher in special education positions, where the vacancy rate is 6.5% for teachers and 9.49% for instructional assistants.

Wake is hoping steps such as a 4% raise or $16 an hour minimum salary for support staff — whichever is higher — and a 4% average raise for teachers will help them fill the remaining vacancies.

“We need to continue to focus on salaries of our employees in hopes of recruiting and retaining folks,” Muttillo said. “Salaries are not the only factor. But it is a big factor.”

Teachers plan for new year

As Wake works to fill the positions, teachers returned to traditional-calendar schools on Wednesday. It was the first of a series of eight teacher workdays to prepare them for the start of the new school year on Aug. 29.

Maggie Rabil, a first grade teacher at Barton Pond Elementary School, sets up her classroom on the first teacher work day on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 in Raleigh, N.C.
Maggie Rabil, a first grade teacher at Barton Pond Elementary School, sets up her classroom on the first teacher work day on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 in Raleigh, N.C.

Maggie Rabil, a first-grade teacher, was excited to join the new Barton Pond Elementary. Rabil, 25, is starting her first full year of teaching after having been hired in January to teach at Leesville Road Elementary.

“I’m very excited to see them become little readers and writers,” Rabil said Wednesday. “To me, they’re not just like 5- and 6-year-olds in my classroom. They’re future historians, mathematicians, artists, athletes. It’s so exciting to see that.”