Nation Faces Serious Shortage of School Teachers; North Carolina Has 700 Vacancies, March 16, 1920

From the front page of The Monroe Journal, Tuesday, March 16, 1920

The country is faced with a serious shortage of school teachers, chiefly through the lack of sufficient salaries, according to the United States Bureau of Education. The report shows that on last February 13, there were 18,279 schools closed because of a lack of teachers, and 41,900 were being taught by teachers characterized by “below standard” but taken temporarily on the emergency. Greater shortages are shown to exist in Southern States including some 700 in North Carolina.