DAVENPORT, Iowa. (KWQC) - As a new school year gets underway across the Hawkeye state, an ongoing problem hangs in the balance.

A lack of instructors in the classroom.

The Iowa Department of Education said more than 660 full-time teaching positions are unfilled. Additionally, there are another 3,000 jobs listed on the department’s hiring website, which have local teachers stretched to the limit.

“It’s obviously really difficult to have a shortage because that just means that teachers who are already working really hard and trying to do everything they can for their students have to fill in those gaps,” Maggie Rietz, Treasurer of the Iowa State Education Association, said.

The Department of Education lists special education, science, english/language arts and mathematics as the subjects

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