Wake County in 'good shape' heading into new school year

RALEIGH, N.C. — Although nearly 1,200 school teachers left the system, Wake County leaders say they are in "good shape" heading into Monday’s start of the traditional-calendar school year."It was certainly alarming in April when we shared the number of resignations we had," said Doug Thilman, the Wake County Public School System assistant superintendent for human resources.According to Thilman, the district was tasked with filling 1,200 vacancies this year, about 200 more than normal. Among the reasons teachers gave for leaving was low pay, he said.Thilman said his recruiters filled the openings through hard work."Our vacancies, we are in pretty good shape right now," he said. "It also does not hurt that the Triangle is a desirable place to live."Thilman said teacher recruits are aware of the tension between teachers and North Carolina political leaders.He said the county has about 50 positions left to fill, a common number for a district the size of Wake County.According to Thilman, the school system hires throughout the year.