Axios Des Moines: Des Moines metro school districts are facing record high teacher and staff absences — and on some days, they’re only able to get 50% of those vacancies filled by substitutes, according to data obtained by Axios. COVID-19 infections, staff burnout and workforce shortages are resulting in teachers taking more time off now than in past years. And at the same time, there’s a smaller pool of substitutes for districts to pull from, forcing schools to compete with each other and raise rates. Des Moines schools endured some of the highest unfilled absence percentages. In January and February, about 45% of absences went unfilled.