Melissa Mathis

Staff Photo by Matt Fields-Johnson
Virginia Bailey, 74, entertains pre-kindergarteners Jordan Garcia, Cynthia Aguila and Guadalupe Arellano while substitute teaching at Roan Street Elementary School in Dalton Ga.

Northwest Georgia's substitute teachers aren't targets of the budget ax like they are in some districts that are curbing costs in the face of another tight year predicted in 2010.

"That just is not an area we have considered touching," Walker County Schools Superintendent Melissa Mathis said.

To lower costs in 2008, Murray County officials started using existing employees as often as possible to cover teacher absences.

"At the end of the school year last year, we saved about $150,000," Murray County Superintendent Vickie Reed. "We do have to have some (certified regular) subs, like when we have somebody out for a pregnancy or a long-term illness."

But day-to-day absences are far cheaper to cover in-house with existing, qualified paraprofessionals or other staff who already are being paid for a day's work, she said.

Requirements for substitute teachers vary with the system, but the state requires a minimum of a high school diploma or GED for anyone who sits in for a sick teacher. Local systems require applicants to enroll in substitute teacher training before they are put on the call list, school officials said.

Rick Eiserman, spokesman for the Georgia Performance Standards Commission, said subs are an attractive cost-cutting area.

"There are at least 30 to 40 systems across the state that have stopped hiring subs and are, in fact, covering them with either central office folks or using other teachers during their periods when they are not with students," Mr. Eiserman said. "That is a very common practice right now because of the economy."

Walker County tries to use only "highly qualified" subs, defined by the state as teachers who have a bachelor's degree or higher, a major in the subject area or have passed the state teacher content assessment and are assigned to teach a major subject, officials said.

Most systems prefer to use highly qualified subs, but they also draw higher pay depending on their level of education.

Dalton's requirements state the system prefers substitutes with an associate degree or higher. Dalton has had 2,356 teacher absences so far this year, officials said.

This year, Fulton County schools cut substitute pay by 10 percent, while Marietta City Schools is pressing co-workers to cover for sick teachers, according to reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

But other Northwest Georgia officials say they aren't looking to substitutes for savings, although they are a significant cost directly funded by local county taxpayers and most systems require at least one sub daily.

Mrs. Mathis said Walker officials try to resist moves that could weaken instruction, and even boosted substitute pay slightly over the past couple of years to account for the increase in the federal minimum wage, in most cases.

"Our principals certainly don't want to compromise instruction in any way," she said. "But it's a huge local burden."

Catoosa County officials say they aren't planning cuts to subs, either.

"We are getting trained substitute teachers from our active list when teachers are out," said Marissa Brower, spokeswoman for Catoosa. "At this point, it's not something that we've looked at as a cost-saving strategy."

North Georgia substitute pay ranges from an average of $40 a day in Chickamauga for noncertified help to $100 a day in Whitfield for certified subs who work 11 days or more in a row in place of the same teacher, officials said.

Dade County Superintendent Patty Priest said she's had more people than ever seeking work as substitutes. Subs represent a significant cost -- well over $100,000 a year in Dade -- even though it's just 0.5 percent of the system's total annual budget.

Dade already lists 30 to 40 substitutes ready for work but "more have signed up because of the economic downturn," Ms. Priest said.

Job seekers range from applicants with college degrees to GEDs, and "we put all of them on our sub list after they have background checks and fill out the appropriate information," she said.

Rather than cut, Whitfield also increased pay for subs the last two years in row "to account for the federal minimum wage increase," spokesman Eric Beavers said.

Mr. Beavers said pay is based on education background and the length of time they fill in for a teacher.

Chickamauga City Schools, one of the smaller North Georgia systems, hasn't changed pay or use of its subs because "the primary problem we have is not getting enough subs," said Superintendent Melody Day.

"Usually this occurs when groups of teachers are involved in training and we need more than we would on a normal day," Ms. Day said.

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PAY

System Minimum per day pay Active substitutes on call Annual cost estimate

Catoosa: $42 400 $464,667

Chickamauga: $40 52 $45,000*

Dalton: $50 147 $400,000*

Dade: $51 40 $111,849

Walker: $58 260 $536,500**

Whitfield: $58 558 $750,000*

* Estimated

** Approximated

Source: North Georgia school officials