As back-to-school season begins, many Triangle public schools are ramping up hiring efforts, as dozens of the classrooms that students will return to still lack full-time teachers.

Job openings for the upcoming school year are still being posted, with traditional-calendar schools set to begin classes in two weeks. Wake County, Durham and Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools return to the classroom on Monday, Aug. 24.

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A Wake County Public School System spokesperson said the percentage of full-time teaching positions that remain open is not yet available. The district did not provide a date for when those numbers will be released. The spokesperson said the hiring process can take well over a week.

Durham Public Schools Executive Director of Human Resources Kadeidra Smoots said the district has 73 open teaching positions. Its overall fill rate is 96%, which Smoots said is a huge improvement from years past. 

Smoots said the district vets all job candidates thoroughly, regardless of the need.

"Sometimes you have that struggle of, am I gonna get just a warm body in the classroom, or am I gonna get a liable body in the classroom?" Smoots said.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools said 98.6% of its teaching positions are filled. District leaders said they are still hiring for 12 positions.

"Having a high fill rate or low vacancy rate is something that we’re really proud of, but that doesn’t mean the work is over," Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools spokesperson Andy Jenks said. "It’s something we’re constantly working to improve." 

Both Durham Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools said long-term substitutes fill gaps when needed. 

Both school divisions tell WRAL their enrollment is trending downward, meaning fewer teachers are needed or will be needed in the future. 

Numbers provided by the school divisions do not yet reflect a decrease in teacher staffing.

Vacancy Rates: 

  • Durham:
    • 2025: 113 vacancies out of 1,827 positions = 6.2% vacancy rate
      • 2026: 73 vacancies out of 2,400 positions = 3.0 % vacancy rate
      • Wake: 
        • 2025: 175 vacancies out 11,787 positions =  1.5% vacancy rate
          • 2026: Not yet available
          • Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools: 
            • 2025:14 vacancies out of 851 positions =  1.7% vacancy rate
              • 2026: 12 vacancies out 881 positions = 1.3 % vacancy rate
              • Hoke: 
                • 2025: 34 vacancies out of 566 positions  = 6% vacancy rate
                  • 2026: 37 vacancies out of 597 positions = 6.2% vacancy rate
                  • Nash:
                    • 2025: 16 vacancies out of 760 positions = 2.1% vacancy rate
                      • 2026: 25 vacancies