Schools across the state continue to deal with understaffing.
The North Carolina School Superintendents Association recently surveyed public schools about the vacancies they had on their first day of school. There were more than 9,800 vacancies for school employees reported across the state with 88 percent of school districts reporting.
The number of vacancies dropped from the prior year, but the association's executive director Jack Hoke says it's still very high.
“What the data says to me is that we have got to elevate the teaching profession, and that includes salary, benefits, and treating them as professionals," he said, "And it's in order to address this it's a long term solution.”
The data also showed thousands more teachers in classrooms who are not fully licensed to teach - more than double from two years ago. That's related to enrollment decline at teaching colleges.
Meanwhile, educators are awaiting passage of the state budget to fund teacher raises and school budgets.