A surge in illnesses this past week left Hamilton County Schools short-staffed and with too few substitutes to fill in.
There was an average of 250 teacher vacancies each day of the week and around 40% were left unfilled, district officials said by email.
School Board Chairwoman Tiffanie Robinson, an independent of Chattanooga, said the substitute pool has also been affected by illness.
“We’ve had a lot of students out, a lot of teachers out, but then, unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of subs unable to cover teacher positions, due to illness issues,” Robinson said in a phone call.
Monday and Tuesday will also see a shortage of teachers, officials said. Known vacancies on Monday sit around 235 and on Tuesday, 186. For both days, 80% of the vacancies have already been filled.
“Our substitute pool appears to be steady, with close to 250 substitutes working per day this week,” district spokesperson Steve Doremus said in an email. “The pool is adequate for most days outside of periods when illness is unusually high.”
Robinson said overall it’s been harder for the district to find substitutes.
“We have had a sub shortage for the last school year because of a general lack of interest in substitute teaching over the last couple of years,” Robinson said. “Certainly the pandemic has caused the shortfall, and most industries, education has definitely been affected by it as well.”
She said the lack of interest is likely fueled by retirements and a shift of career priorities for many individuals.
“There is definitely a viewpoint that being in education is not easy right now. It’s a difficult place to be, a difficult industry. So, I think that that’s a turnoff,” Robinson said.
The Board of Education is considering pay increases as a way to attract new substitutes, Robinson said.
Substitutes make different hourly wages depending on their credentials:
— Non-degreed: $8 per hour.
— Degree: $9.80 per hour.
— Permanent substitute: $11.76 per hour.
— Certified substitute: $15.23 per hour.
All are also eligible for a weekly bonus of up to $200.
While the school board approved a 3% raise for teachers and a $15 minimum starting wage for classified employees in May, it did not apply to substitutes.
“(Raises have) been an ongoing discussion between the board and the administration,” Robinson said. “And the plan is to have something presented for the next budget season in quarter one of 2023.”
Though this past week presented staffing challenges and this coming week will see increased absences due to the Thanksgiving holiday, school will continue as normal, officials said.
“There are no current plans for canceling school on Monday and Tuesday, or for switching to remote instruction,” Doremus said. “We currently have zero schools who are tracking at greater than 10% of student absences, of any kind, compared to their current yearly average. Most schools have seen a decline in the overall number of student absences as compared to this time last week. We are not seeing any trends that would indicate we will not have enough substitutes for next week.”
Contact Carmen Nesbitt at cnesbitt@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @carmen_nesbitt.