Kansas has an unusually high number of teacher vacancies this year.
Some 317 teacher vacancies were reported across the state last month, according to a Kansas State Department of Education report.
Officials said that’s at least 100 more than normal for this time of year.
Special education teachers are needed most, according to the report. There are 46 openings around the state, with many in southwest Kansas where teachers with special language skills are needed for a large population of Spanish speakers, which are always difficult to fill.
There’s are also 33 openings for elementary school teachers, considered much easier to hire.
Julie Wilson, who runs kansasteachingjobs.com, says many school districts are already posting openings for next year because fewer teachers are applying for jobs in Kansas. That, she says, may skew the numbers higher.
The Kansas City, Kan., School District reported 28 open teaching jobs -- the most of any district in the area. Shawnee Mission reported nine, Olathe has one and Blue Valley reported no open teaching positions.
School districts reported their vacant teaching positions as of Sept. 1, and in February will tell the state whether they filled those positions and if not, what factors were responsible.
Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR. He's also host of KCUR's political podcast Statehouse Blend. You can reach him on Twitter, @samzeff.
