Rocklin USD board President Julie Leavens Hupp posted on her campaign Facebook page: "We need as many Christ centered, family focused parents as we can get..."

The new state-installed superintendent, Mike Miles, said his message to teachers and parents is about hope as well as the need for dramatic change.

The number of teacher vacancies in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools—more than 500 as of last week—was big enough to grab attention. But the back-to-school scramble to find teachers isn’t limited to the state’s second-largest district.

Parental pressure appears to have played a major role in the sudden departure of the superintendent of North Monterey County USD in California and in a number of other districts.