TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A report says rural and urban schools in Kansas area are struggling to fill teaching positions as applicants opt for jobs in suburban locations and fewer college students major in education.

The report was issued by a task force of academics and educators and was presented to the Kansas State Board of Education on Tuesday. Areas that are having a particularly difficult time include southwest Kansas, Wichita and Kansas City.

The report says 40 percent of the 277 teaching vacancies were in southwest Kansas. Vacancies were clustered in Wichita Unified School District 259 and Kansas City Unified School District 500, which are the state’s two largest, high-poverty urban districts.

According to the report, northeast and northwest Kansas is attracting teachers from other parts of the state.