CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Across the country, laptops and tablets at the top of everyone’s virtual learning list.

“We are seeing a lot of customers needing laptops and desktops,” said Maura Azzarelli, an employee at Best Buy, “We’re trying the best we can to get the inventory in the best we can.” 

The demand is soaring for families and schools trying to get the tech they need for a remote start.

“Everyone is buying iPads and Chromebooks and vendors are delayed,” said Andrew Houlihan, Superintendent for Union County Schools. 

In Union County, Houlihan said they hoped to have enough Chromebooks for each student in second grade, but some of those Chromebooks now likely won’t be there for the first day of school.

“I think the growing technology build-up and the volume that the globe is really trying to procure is a challenge,” Houlihan said. 

However, scoring a computer is only part of the challenge. 

“You can have the device but if you don’t have the internet it won’t matter,” Houlihan said. 

A new connectivity report from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction found that between 250,000 and 300,000 students in North Carolina do not have access to the internet at home.

CMS and Union County are both hoping to provide hot spots for every family that needs one. 

But the superintendent said the biggest challenge is supplying the demand.

“We’ve really been trying to problem solve around those issues,” Houlihan said. 

Houlihan said Union County just bought 3,000 hotspots for families in need.