School districts across Minnesota are struggling to hire and retain teachers. Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius says this trend especially holds true in the rural areas of the state. She says one driving factor behind the shortage, is the low unemployment rate in the state:

The data also show teacher turnover is higher in smaller districts. Since 2010, districts of fewer than 300 teachers have accounted for more than 60 percent of the teachers who left for other districts.