Board View: Districts first need to identify why
Kentucky School Advocate
April 2016
By Matt McCarty
Staff writer
The Newport Independent school board approved a pay raise last fall for substitute teachers. Previously, the board approved the hiring of four full-time subs in the district.
Newport Independent school board Chairwoman Ramona Malone said those decisions were about the students.
Finding quality substitute teachers is “something that the board has always looked at because we think about the interruption in the children’s academic success,” said Malone, who is also a member of the KSBA board of directors. “The superintendent did a search of what other districts were paying and presented a recommendation to the board, and we agreed that it was the right thing to do for the kids. Because we want to, of course, be competitive in salaries with other districts. I think when you do that it shows how you value the service that you’re being provided.”
As districts across the state look to find ways to attract and retain enough substitute teachers, Malone says districts with shortages first need to identify the reasons for the shortage of substitute teachers.
“I just know that when you are trying to attract people to come and work for you, you want to provide them with something that they’re going to get out of it. So I think that’s something that districts need to look at,” she said. “To me, the first thing we need to look at is why do we have this challenge? So until we identify the why, we can never solve the problem. So I think the first thing we need to do is figure out why it is such a challenge in districts across the state of Kentucky.”