District having a tough time getting subs

The school year is still relatively young, but School District 6 is already having problems attracting enough substitute teachers.

One day this fall, the district was short 11 substitute teachers. Subs don’t get paid much — $75 a day for an eight-hour shift, which amounts to less than $10 an hour.

Some of the best subs are retired teachers, noted superintendent Steve Bradshaw, but under state law, the district is required to pay 12 percent of the teacher’s retirement, which boosts the cost of the sub.

Bradshaw said he planned on lobbying against the law in the next legislative session.

The student body has become more difficult in the past 10 to 15 years as well, school leaders noted, making it more difficult to attract subs.

High school classes in particular can be problematic.

The district hasn’t had many issues with teachers who let the school know ahead of time they’ll be gone. It’s the teacher that calls in sick at 6 a.m. that’s problematic. Filling in those spots can be difficult.

One idea was to contract one or two teachers that would be full-time subs, though admittedly, that would be expensive, school leaders noted.