The Pasco School District is bumping substitute teacher pay for the remainder of the school year as part of an effort to retain and attract a scarce number of fill-ins.
Luis Flores, Pasco’s substitute dispatcher, said they are in “dire need” of more subs, also known as guest teachers, to help out at every level.
Pasco hopes to add to its pool of 280 on-call substitutes who help out when regular certificated staff are unavailable.
“All schools are in need of substitutes,” Flores told the Tri-City Herald last week.
So much so they’re temporarily increasing their pay, from $145 per full day of subbing to $175 a day, between May 1 and June 13.
Subs can even earn up to $200 on Fridays — a day when finding replacements for teachers and staff are usually most difficult — and earn additional pay for subbing during planning periods.
“We’re trying to motivate the substitutes to work on a Friday, as well,” Flores said.
In new promotional materials, Pasco claims new substitutes can “earn more and learn more” by choosing to work in their schools, adding that they can take advantage of “free professional development” and a new “unmatched compensation.”
In order to meet Pasco’s new higher pay, subs must work 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. leading instruction time, maintaining the upkeep of classrooms and assisting students with their classwork.
‘Fail to fill’
It’s already having an impact in Pasco schools, Flores said.
Classes are marked “fail to fill” when schools are unable to find a substitute for an absent teacher.
In most of these cases, the burden of teaching the class falls on a rotating list of building staff, who jump in whenever they have their free — oftentimes during their lunch or prep period — to keep students on track with their assignments.
Flores said their rate of fills on Thursday was at 80%, meaning that four of every five classes with an absent teacher had a substitute filling in. That rate hovered around 70% before this week’s kickoff of the initiative, but it also has the tendency to swing dramatically given the time of the year.
Flores said Pasco’s fill rate is on par with Richland’s and Kennewick’s.
But their ultimate goal is to ensure every class has a full-time instructor so that students have an equal opportunity to learn.
Substitute pay Richland, Kennewick
Substitute teachers are important for public schools because they ensure quality education for students and keep classrooms functioning smoothly while teachers are gone.
Pasco’s new pay initiative means their substitutes are the highest paid in the Tri-Cities.
Kennewick School District has a larger pool of substitutes — about 373 on call — and pays them $145 per day of instruction. Subs also see a pay bump up to the same rate as a regular teacher after they’ve been on assignment for more than 20 days at a site.
“We also have some ‘permanent’ substitutes who serve a school building full-time,” wrote Robyn Chastain, Kennewick’s communications and public relations director, in an email.
“When a substitute is not available, other teachers are compensated to provide the necessary coverage to ensure students continue to receive instruction each day. We continue to work to recruit and retain high quality substitutes for our district,” she wrote.
Substitute teachers in the Richland School District are paid $20 an hour, or about $150 for a full day, according to an online job listing. The size of Richland’s pool of substitutes was not immediately available.
Substitute pay in Washington schools depends on certification requirements, and some positions are paid higher than others.
For example, substitute bus attendant operating bus lifts for disabled students may earn a few dollars less in hourly wages compared to an in-class substitute teacher, who is required to hold certain certifications.
How to earn a sub certification
Across the state, substitute teachers are paid daily anywhere from $130 to more than $300.
Flores said there are two ways for teaching subs to get certificated to work in the classroom.
Both require subs to have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher in any field of study.
The first is by obtaining emergency substitute teaching certification through the school district. That is the fastest way, Flores said, and requires subs to renew them every two years.
The second way is by earning a regular certification, which is valid for life.
But that also means subs must undergo additional tests through the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.