Hutto ISD raised substitute teacher pay Oct. 22 amid low fill rates for classroom vacancies.
Gaye Rosser, the school district’s executive director for talent management and personnel support, said the district’s fill rate—the rate of teacher absence days being covered by substitute teachers—dropped to 59% in September. This means more than 40% of teacher absences went unfilled, she said, despite having a sufficient pipeline of substitute teachers.
“We have enough subs ... they just were choosing not to pick up a job,” Rosser said.
The details
The approved updates to the district’s compensation for substitute teachers are as follows:
The district also added premiums to days and positions that are typically difficult to find coverage for:
Long-term substitutes will also receive a higher daily rate, Rosser said. After the 11th day of service, substitute educators will be paid $150 per day.
Additionally, substitute teachers who serve for over 40 days will receive a $150 bonus. Substitute teachers will receive another $150 bonus after serving a total of 100 days.
Rosser said the new rates will not rely on an increase to the district’s overall budget for substitute pay. Rather, campuses will use the same amount of funding in a more targeted way or adjust campus-level budgets to add dollars, she said.
What’s next?
Trustees approved the pay increases with the goal of bringing fill rates up to at least 75% by January.
Rosser said the district will also work to increase its substitute pool from 156 to 200 people.
