The number of teacher vacancies in Wake County has some people a little worried. With the school year starting for most students in five weeks, some former and current teachers have raised concerns.

A spokesperson for Wake County Public School System said vacancies are relatively low, and the district feels good about staffing heading into the school year.

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But some teachers said the vacancies are already causing a strain on educators.

WCPSS assistant principal Katie Jones said in a Facebook post that four teachers recently left her school in just one week. She said the applicants she's getting to replace them aren't qualified and that she's concerned a teacher shortage could impact learning in the district.

Heidi Sue Ross, a former WCPSS music teacher, agrees.

"Certainly, within the past year, it became the biggest deal it's ever been in my career," said Ross. "We're just going to do the best we can, but with the shortage of subs, the work falls on us. So we're doing our stuff and somebody else’s. Administrators were covering classes, particularly if it was a class in in a subject area they taught when they were in the classroom."

"It really was all hands-on deck. But how long can you sustain that?"

Ross said she loved the work until the pandemic arrived.

She retired last month after more than two decades with the school system.

"It was actually one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. I still feel passionate about public education ... it seems to have been the right call, but I'm still heartsick about it — that I had to choose between the thing I love and my health," said Ross.

She said teacher shortages at her school forced her to take on an unsustainable workload covering extra classes.

"Everything has changed, and as we lose those teachers, our education system will suffer even more," she said.

Ross said she's not the only one leaving the profession because of the stress caused by the last few years.

"I'm very much worried about public education. I very much worry about education in North Carolina," she said.

A spokesperson for WCPSS said as of July 1, only 3.7% of teaching positions in the county are vacant. That's a slight increase over the 2.4% that were open last August.

But district leaders say year-round schools have already started and haven't had serious staffing issues.

"We're in what you call the Great Resignation, right? There’s an incredible shift in people switching jobs. We have people leaving teaching, but we have other people coming into teaching," said Wake County Board of Education Vice Chairman Chris Heagarty.

Heagarty said retaining and recruiting teachers is one of the school system's biggest priorities and leaders are already working to address potential shortages. The state's budget for the next year includes an average 4.2% raise for teachers.

Heargarty said the school system is also working on initiatives to push more current Wake students to become teachers themselves.