Wake County Public School System announced Thursday that it has filled 98.6% of its approximately 11,000 teaching positions, a notable improvement over the same time last year. The district now has 156 open teaching slots, the majority of which are in general education classrooms.
Recruitment efforts and compensation
Crystal Gregory, a recruitment specialist for the district, called the rate “one of the highest we’ve seen in quite a long time.” She noted that the district maintains a pool of about 6,000 substitute teachers to step in when needed. “Our goal is 100%, and we have robust plans to reach that,” Gregory said. “While 98.6% feels great, we understand the impact when a child’s classroom lacks a permanent teacher, and we are proud of our staff’s readiness.
Special‑education vacancies remain a challenge
The vacancy rate for special‑education teachers exceeds 4%, compared with roughly 1% for general‑education teachers. Instructional assistants also show a higher need, with 125 of the more than 2,700 positions still open—a 4.6% vacancy rate, most of those supporting special‑education programs.
Pay incentives and local supplements
Gregory credited higher local salary supplements for helping attract candidates. Wake County offers one of the state’s highest local supplements on top of the base salary schedule, plus an additional supplement for teachers holding a master’s degree—a benefit the state discontinued in 2013. Despite these incentives, the district’s base pay for teachers without extra certifications remains lower than many peer districts in the Southeast, such as those in Nashville, Atlanta, and Jacksonville, according to a recent WRAL analysis.
Enrollment trends and budget impacts
The district’s overall staffing numbers are down this year due to a decline in student enrollment and recent budget adjustments that eliminated some instructional‑coaching positions. Wake County schools serve about 160,000 students across roughly 200 schools, making it North Carolina’s largest district and one of the nation’s largest by enrollment.
Looking ahead
District officials say they will continue to prioritize filling the remaining vacancies, especially in special‑education roles, to ensure that every classroom has a qualified teacher. The recruitment team plans to leverage the district’s competitive supplements and the large substitute‑teacher pool to maintain instructional continuity throughout the school year.
Original reporting: WRAL Raleigh — read the source article.
