SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SHORTAGE AFFECTING COSTS, TIME AND STRESS

A recent shortage of substitute teachers, which has forced some teachers to split classes up and others to cover for absent teachers during their "prep" time, was center stage at Monday night's school board meeting.

Superintendent John Ramos revealed that the district is short on substitute teachers, but did not offer a specific reason other than to say the pool of such candidates is low. He even asked residents who might be experienced or legally available to serve to be in touch.

"We are well aware that there is a substitute problem," Ramos said. "It is a problem that is not unique to our district. The fact is that there is a lack of substitutes and we are trying our best to address this issue."

He said the district only has enough substitutes in its roster to cover 40 teacher absentees per day.

John Ramos

Records indicate that the shortage has had an effect, with the district using substitutes 7,691 times in the 2015-2016 school year, down from 9,189 just two years earlier and 9,807 times in the 2010-2011 school year.

The impact has been severe on many classes, teachers and parents who spoke at the meeting revealed. They said that when a substitute is not available there are two other options.

The first is to split the class without a teacher up into four or five smaller groups and add those groups to existing classes, thus increasing class size for the day.

The second option is for teachers to share the burden during their break or "prep" times. Each teacher is given that time during the day, but when they are called in to cover for a period they lose the time. They must also be paid $40 per period under the teachers' union contract. If five teachers are needed to cover during one day, that costs the district an additional $200.

The cost for a substitute is less, at $90 per day for those with a college degree and $70 per day for those without one.

Several parents and teachers spoke out during the meeting about the problem. See their views below:




Ramos said the first approach is always to use a sub, the second is to use teachers to cover during break time or "prep" time, then to split classes as "a last resort ... when there is simply no option. It is not optimal."

He said the district is taking steps to remedy the situation.

"We are working first with the provider, the agency that works with us to provide subs to make sure that all of the procedures are clear and there are no mistakes or missteps, that available subs are placed in classes," Ramos said, later adding he is also "working with local colleges to increase the pool, perhaps with college students who are eligible to substitute." State law does not require a college degree, only 60 semester-hour credits, to substitute. 

Finally, he put out "a call to the community because we are beginning to understand that there are people in our community who are eligible to sub. We have a problem and to the extent that people might be available to sub, we urge you to come and apply."