OUSD increases pay for substitute teachers

By: LOUISE ESOLA - Staff Writer | Monday, November 7, 2005 9:05 PM PST ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- The Oceanside Unified School District has raised the daily pay for substitute teachers by roughly 23 percent as a way to increase its database of loyal substitute teachers, district officials confirmed on Monday.

Substitute teachers are now paid $105 per day, a $20 increase over the $85 it used to pay substitutes, according to district spokeswoman Laura Chalkley. Those filling in for special education teachers also used to make $85 a day and are now paid $115 per day, she added.

Luis Ibarra, the district's human resources director, said the increase in daily pay will help lure substitute teachers to work in Oceanside. The district shares a pool of substitute teachers between most North County school districts and wants Oceanside to remain competitive, he said.

The Oceanside district hires substitute teachers almost every day to fill in for teachers who call in sick or are scheduled to attend education conferences and workshops. More recently, the district has been having a difficult time calling in substitutes and retaining those who have worked for the district in the past, according to Ibarra.

"We noticed a trend that substitute teachers are hard to find," he said. "We hope that with more money they'll answer the calls."

A local study on substitute teacher pay revealed that neighboring districts ---- Vista, Carlsbad, and San Marcos --- pay about $85 per day, he said. Those farther away, such as Valley Center, pay about $100, he added.

Increasing pay for substitutes will ensure that the district can have a pool of available workers who will prefer to work in Oceanside, he said.

Associate Superintendent Robyn Phillips, who is in charge of the district's budget, said overall costs for substitute teachers is expected to increase by $800,000 over the $3 million spent last year.

That would be more than a 25 percent increase.

But the district will try to save money by asking employees to avoid scheduling doctor appointments during school hours.

"We will be looking at ways to reduce reliance on substitutes," she said. "We anticipate the actual increase will not be a high as 25 percent by the end of the year."

Substitute teachers apply to work for the district and are kept on call for when schools need them.

The increase in pay will also affect those who fill in long-term substitute positions.

Those who work for more than ten consecutive days are paid $115 per day, after ten days. Those who work with special education students are paid $125 per day after day ten.

Contact staff writer Louise Esola at (760) 901-4151 or lesola@nctimes.com.

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