Iredell Statesville Schools

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Iredell-Statesville Schools are boosting pay as they compete for subs to cover classes amid a pandemic-related teacher shortage.

Students are back in Charlotte-area schools but educators say shortages of teachers, bus drivers and substitutes make it tough to return to normal. As exhaustion sets in, administrators seek creative staffing solutions.

North Carolina education officials, Gov. Roy Cooper and local school board members say they're seeing increasing instances of threats, disruption and even violence at school board meetings. It comes amid national turmoil over COVID-19 measures.

Union County Public Schools, the largest district in North Carolina that’s not requiring masks inside schools, now has more than 10% of its students quarantined. Iredell-Statesville and Catawba County schools, which approved mask mandates Tuesday, are in the same situation.

Iredell-Statesville Schools has moved five schools into virtual learning because of COVID-19 spread. North Carolina health officials say the district is among a trend of mandating masks to limit infection and quarantines.

Rules for face coverings in schools may vary from county to county when the new school year begins in August. They strongly suggest mandatory masks for K-8, but there's no penalty for making masks optional. In high school the rules say vaccinated people don't need to wear masks, but pediatricians say it's hard to distinguish who's not vaccinated.

The Iredell-Statesville school board this week gave Superintendent Jeff James an $18,000 raises after a little less than one year on the job. It comes as James shifts money from central offices to teacher pay.

School districts across North Carolina are scrambling to find teachers willing to take on six more weeks during the summer.

School district leaders across the Charlotte region are trying to figure out whether a fast-tracked school reopening bill will force them — or allow them — to revise in-person schedules.

North Carolina teachers and other school personnel are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of age, starting Wednesday. Iredell-Statesville Schools and Gaston County Schools are offering mass vaccine events for employees on opening day.