Amid battle with teachers over pay, CCSD faces substitute shortage
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Issues with pay are part of the reason there’s teacher shortage in CCSD and there’s not enough subs to cover teacher sick days and earned time off.
Wednesday, FOX5 reached out to the district asking about the substitute teacher shortage. CCSD tells FOX5 this school year, about a fifth to a quarter of sub jobs have gone unfilled.
“I am a sub in CCSD and it’s 5 o’clock on Sunday and I want to show you the 235 sub postings for tomorrow, Monday,” said Stephanie Valdez in a social media post sharing just how many subs are needed in CCSD classrooms.
“I just counted the number of sub job openings for tomorrow, Thursday, at 5:45 PM in the evening and I counted 256 which is a lot,” Valdez told FOX5 Wednesday night. Valdez maintains while there’s been a shortage of subs in the past, it’s worse this school year.
“It is not because teachers are calling out. They are allowed to take sick days, personal days... It is that the district isn’t doing enough to fill the teaching vacancy positions so that there is enough subs to cover the short term,” Valdez asserts.
CCSD tells FOX5 there’s a pool of approximately 3,400 individuals to cover teacher absences. This school year, the substitute fill rate has ranged between 74 to 80 percent.
“When I’ve gone to schools and checked-in, they are like, ‘Oh you are a sub? Anytime you want to come here, please we need help,’” Valdez recounted. Valdez says some subs are being used to fill teaching positions long-term, in order to cover some of the 1,200+ teacher vacancies in the district.
“I have nothing against subs. I am a sub myself, but I know that I am not the best person to take over a classroom for the full year. Students need a full time licensed teacher in the classroom,” Valdez argued.
The district confirms to FOX5, they are increasing the daily pay rate for substitute teachers at select campuses to attract subs to the highest-needs schools.
Substitute teachers at the following seven schools with high vacancy rates will now earn a daily rate of $215.
Chaparral High School
Cheyenne High School
Carroll M. Johnston Middle School
Dell H. Robison Middle School
Marvin M. Sedway Middle School
Theron L. Swainston Middle School
Ed Von Tobel Middle School
Substitute teachers at the 23 Transformation Network Schools will now earn a daily rate of $225.
Kermit R. Booker Elementary School
Clyde C. Cox Elementary School
Laura Dearing Elementary School
D.L. “Dusty” Dickens Elementary School
Ruby Duncan Elementary School
Ira Earl Elementary School
Harley Harmon Elementary School
Helen Herr Elementary School
Jay W. Jeffers Elementary School
Matt Kelly Elementary School
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School
Walter V. Long Elementary School
Robert Lunt Elementary School
Ann Lynch Elementary School
Dr. Claude G. Perkins Elementary School
Dean Peterson Elementary School
Hal Smith Elementary School
John Tartan Elementary School
Ruby S. Thomas Elementary School
Jim Thorpe Elementary School
Elizabeth Wilhelm Elementary School
Wendell P. Williams Elementary School
Elaine Wynn Elementary School
You can find information about applying for a substitute teacher by clicking here.
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