Medford school district looks at pay raise for substitute teachers
Substitute teachers in the Medford school district will get a pay boost under a proposal revised by the district’s finance committee Monday night.
As with other employers, Medford Area Public Schools is finding it a challenge to fill vacancies and has to take steps to be competitive in the marketplace. The district has found it particularly difficult to find substitute teachers.
District leadership is hoping that raising the rate will make subbing in Medford a better prospect than subbing in nearby districts who pull from the same pool of subs.
Currently, general substitute teachers are paid a rate of $110 per day which comes out to $13.75 per hour. Substitutes who are retired teachers are paid a higher rate at $128 per day or $16 per hour.
Under the proposal presented by district administrator Pat Sullivan and finance director Audra Brooks, the rate will go to $130 per day ($16.25 per hour) for general substitute teachers and $148 per day ($18.50 per hour) for retired teachers.
In addition to the full day substitutes, committee members reviewed the additional pay teachers get for giving up their prep time periods and filling in for a class. Brooks had recommended increasing this to $18.50 per hour to keep it in line with what retired teachers are paid to substitute.
School board president Dave Fleegel supported the idea of increasing the rate, but said it should be higher suggesting an increase to $25 per hour. “We could be real jerks and say you just have to do it,” Fleegel said, but quickly added that it was important to compensate them for giving up their prep time.
“$25 is a really big jump,” Brooks said. Board member Steve Deml noted that increasing it could help keep teachers in the district. “The staff would love it,” Sullivan said, of the suggested amount, However, others thought it was too drastic of a jump and in the end decided to raise the hourly rate for covering a class during a prep period to $20 per hour.
If approved by the full school board at the March 8 meeting, the new rates will go into effect at the start of next school year.
