Teacher vacancies in the east ahead of school year

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Many parents in the east are getting their children ready to go back to the classroom, but how are administrators doing as far as making sure schools are ready?

School officials in several counties say they have current teacher vacancies and hoping to hire more educators.

Most public schools in the region are operating at reduced hours until teachers and office staff return next week.

That includes in Pitt County, where the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, says there are 40 vacancies currently.

“What usually happens is that we are able to fill those vacancies, not every last one of them, but most of them will be filled by the time that school starts and throughout the school year there are people that move in and out of the state or in and out of the district that will apply for positions” says Rhone.

Several other counties provided us with school system teacher vacancies as of August 8th, 2023: in addition to the 40 vacancies in Pitt County, there are also 40 in Lenoir County, 24 in Duplin County, and 16 teachers needed in Beaufort County.

Pitt County Association of Educators, President, Mario Blanchard says more can be done to recruit teachers in the east.

“I feel if the General Assembly could raise teacher pay especially for the veteran teachers so they wont be encouraged to leave the profession so early and also feel maybe some who feel like sticking around they might be encouraged to stay” says Blanchard.

He’s calling on anyone with a caring heart to apply for a job, for what Blanchard calls a rewarding experience.

“Loving, yes loving and accepting of people’s differences and not being afraid to accept challenges and challenge yourself” says Blanchard.

The first official day of school for Pitt County students is August 28th.

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