The daily wage rate of substitute teachers in special education classrooms will increase for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year, Superintendent Cheryl Jordan announced at the MUSD Board of Education meeting on Nov. 15. The policy has been implemented on an effort to reduce substitute teacher shortages for special education classrooms, she said.
The current daily rate is $225.00 and $275.00 for day-to-day and long-term substitutes, respectively, and will be raised to $275.00 and $325.00, respectively, according to Jordan. The wage raise will be applicable to both day-to-day and long-term substitutes across all schools in the district, she said. Substitutes will only receive the increase when they teach special education, including resource, special-day, and community-based instruction (CBI) classes, she added.
“Substitutes are paid $45 if we cover regular classes during our prep period, so if you compare this to the extra $50 from all the additional monitoring and crowd control involved when supervising special education classes, it may not be worth it to a few teachers,” day-to-day substitute Jenifer Lind said.
Special education classrooms are where the most crucial need for substitutes is, Jordan said in an interview. The district wants to attract more people to fill the vacancies there, so they approved the wage raise to be effective from Nov. 16, 2022, through July 31, 2023, she said. The Board’s decision to make the policy interim is mainly due to the current outbreak of viruses, she said.
“We do not foresee that COVID, compounded by the flu and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), will be an ongoing reason for current substitute teacher absences,” Jordan said.
As of Dec. 5, there are currently 174 active certificated substitutes, according to the MUSD Director of Human Relations, Damon James. However, the issue is not necessarily about the number of substitute teachers on duty, he said.
“Substitute teachers are contractors, so they choose which positions to accept,” James said. “There are times that we have jobs and substitute teachers available, but ultimately, the type of classroom, lesson plan provided, school location, and subject matter plays a role in their decision.”
The estimated increase in cost to the district’s general fund from the new wage policy is $25,000, Jordan said. The district decided on the $50.00 increment amount with an understanding that MUSD is well-funded relative to other school districts, she added.
“We took into consideration of comparable school districts, such as Palo Alto Unified, Fremont Union High School District, and Santa Clara Unified, that can pay higher wages to faculty members due to community-based funding,” Jordan said.
The efforts required to manage the behaviors of special education students are more straining in comparison to those of standard education students, Lind said.
“No matter what level of special education you are teaching, you will have to be on point all class period, shutting down any misbehaviors, keeping the students focused on the assignment,” Lind said. “So you could either do that or you can sit behind a desk, tell students to check Google Classroom, and read a magazine. That’s why no one is picking up special education openings.”
Although the wage raise has been implemented, there are still not enough substitutes that sign up for special education classes, according to staff secretary Joyce Pahimulin, who oversees the substitutes at MHS.
“HR has to hire more substitutes,” Pahimulin said. “Usually, our subs are pre-arranged with teachers, so that when a special ed teacher calls in, there are no more available subs because they are already committed to another class. In that case, we have to request teachers to cover the unfilled sub-jobs.”
Pahimulin said she appreciates the Board’s efforts in encouraging substitutes to accept jobs in special education classrooms, but she believes it is too early to tell if it will be enough to end the shortage.
“There should be training for substitutes that’ll prepare them to work with students with special needs because if you are not familiar with them, you would be scared to take on the responsibility,” Pahimulin said. “The raise should’ve been permanently implemented since the cost of living is not stagnant … Otherwise, what will happen next year?”