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North Carolina’s public schools opened classes with fewer teacher vacancies this year but are still trying to fill hundreds of vacant positions.
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New figures released Thursday by the N.C. School Superintendents’ Association shows school districts began the 2026-27 school year with 2,009 K-12 teaching vacancies — a 6.8% drop from the prior year. The state’s 115 school districts also reported 6,265 vacancies — a slight increase from 6,209 at the start of the prior school year.
School bus driver vacancies increased 4.5%, from 1,223 to 1,278 statewide.
“North Carolina school districts have made meaningful progress in reducing teacher vacancies, and that progress reflects the determined work of local leaders and their teams,” Jack Hoke, NCSSA executive director, said in a news release.
“At the same time, more than 6,200 vacancies, particularly the continued need for classified employees and bus drivers, remind us that staffing challenges remain. Every vacancy affects a school community, and districts need sustained support to recruit, prepare and retain the people who serve students each day.”
The data shows how school districts are increasingly relying on nontraditional educators to staff classrooms.
Districts reported hiring 5,459 residency licensed teachers. This an alternative way to become a teacher for people who didn’t go through the traditional path of getting an undergraduate degree in education.
A residency licensed teacher is a person who already has a bachelor’s degree but is now teaching in a classroom while also taking courses at a teacher preparation program.
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There was a 5.3% increase this year in residency licensed teachers and the highest total reported since NCSSSA began tracking this statistic in 2022
The new data comes one year after school districts reported sharp declines in vacancy rates. Last year, there was a 31% drop in teacher vacancies and a 20% drop in overall vacancies.
Hoke had attributed last year’s drop in vacancies to schools no longer having federal COVID dollars that were used to hire extra employees to help students. Hoke said many districts couldn’t afford to keep those new positions when the pandemic-era funds disappeared in 2024.
School districts are still dealing with declining student enrollments that lead to less state funding for positions.
This year’s overall vacancy total was 24.8% less than in 2024 and 44.5% lower than in 2022.
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