Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 will increase its substitute teacher pay by $4 per day from $146 to $150 in an attempt to attract and retain substitute teachers in a still-tight market for educators and substitutes.
The change is effective immediately.
Superintendent Eric Olson told board members that while the change was relatively small, administrators expected it would help District 64 attract substitutes that are currently in high demand among a handful of area school districts.
“$150 will put us in a more competitive range and it’s more of a psychological feeling for the individuals that they’re getting the dollar to fill sub positions,” he said.
“As you know, substitute teaching is still a very difficult area to fill,” Olson told board members.
According to a memo distributed to school board members, the lowest pay rate in nearby school districts is $110 perday, paid by Lincolnshire-Prairie View District 103. The highest rate is $175 per day, paid by East Maine School District 63 and Wauconda District 56.
Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Joel Martin wrote in a memo to the board that the substitute teacher shortage remains an issue as the district looks to staff classrooms.
“The administration believes that it is important to continue to position ourselves near the top of what surrounding districts are paying so that we are able to fill open positions on a regular basis,” Martin wrote.
Board President Denise Pearl observed the change would put District 64 near the top of the pay range for substitutes.
“We would be in between [District 63 and District 62],” Pearl said.
Board members briefly discussed raising the rate beyond even $150, but Chief School Business Official Adam Parisi said administrators were mostly chasing the “psychological” benefit of bringing the district’s substitute pay rate up to par with other area schools districts.
Board member Garreth Kennedy questioned the efficacy of raising the rate by just $4 per day.
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“How many times have we not filled a substitute position or a substitute need this year?” he asked.
Parisi replied that the district’s “fill rate” is higher than last year’s, but that staffing is still a daily issue.
“Every single day, we still have situations where we’re struggling to fill subs and on Mondays and Fridays in all of our buildings we still have struggles where either it’s the assistant principal or related service staff or we’re doing internal substitutions,” he said.
Pearl encouraged the board to accept the administrators’ recommendation.
“Budget-wise, it’s not making a big impact in our budget,” Pearl said.
Kennedy was unconvinced.
“I really don’t see the point in this,” he said. “If you’re struggling Mondays and Fridays, I’d really prefer that the administration come back with a proposal that boosts [the rate] for Mondays and Fridays.”
Kennedy said he’d be happy to consider hiking the rate even further, to $175 per day, on Mondays and Fridays, prompting board member Nicole Woitowich to remark, “I don’t want to implement surge pricing, like Uber surge pricing, on substitute teachers.”
The board approved the proposal on a 6-1 vote, with Kennedy casting the only “no” vote.