Superintendent: North Dakota Teacher Shortage Getting Worse

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A teacher shortage in North Dakota has worsened since the beginning of the school year, and one effort to address it has been a failure.

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler says 204 teacher openings around the state are unfilled. That compares with 174 at the start of the academic year.

Baesler last year assembled a task force to explore potential solutions to the shortage. One idea approved by the governor last fall was to allow schools to bring in qualified people from the community to help educate students in their area of expertise.

However, the state Education Standards and Practices Board says only one person applied — and wasn't qualified.

The task force meets again on Thursday.