The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Use of substitutes rises in schools
TORRINGTON >> The school district’s use of substitute paraprofessionals has increased during the last few months, but their rate of pay has not.
Members of the Board of Education discussed concerns with the rate at which substitute paraprofessionals have been enticed to work at Torrington High School and Vogel-Wetmore during a meeting earlier this week, when the Personnel Committee reviewed substitute fill rate data for December and January.
In December, 38 percent of requested substitute positions were filled at Torrington High School, and 54 percent at VogelWetmore.
In January, the rate at Torrington High School increased to 51 percent, while the VogelWetmore rate fell to 51 percent.
“Unfortunately, two of the schools are still sitting at 51 percent for a fill rate. I’m just not sure at this point how much more we can really help,” said board member Daniel Thibault, chairman of the Personnel Committee.
Thibault suggesting asking for best practices from administration and attempting to put them into practice.
“It looks like there has been a marked effort to try to get peo- ple in,” said Thibault.
Substitute paraprofessionals are able to choose which vacant positions they choose on a given day, as are substitute teachers.
Administrators, faced with unfilled vacancies, then have to try to address paraprofessional requirements set out in PPT agreements governing special education services, Thibault said.
“That becomes a major chal-
lenge because then administration has to try to shift assets around, which could leave programs understaffed — which is not of benefit to anyone, not the paras, the administrators or the students,” he said.
Committee members suggested reaching out to the paraprofessional union for suggestions on how to address the issue, and asked Director of Business Services Jerry Domanico to do so on their behalf.
The Personnel Committee previously recommended raising the pay for both substitute teachers and paraprofessionals in city schools in November, since the current rate is not commensurate with what is offered by surrounding districts.
Torrington pays substitute paraprofessionals $9.60 an hour and substitute teachers $71 a day, with an increase to $75 after 22 days of service, and contracts out to Kelly Services for the provision of these staffers.
In comparison, officials said, Winchester pays Kelly substitute paraprofessionals $11.66 an hour and substitute teachers $85 per day, or $100 for those certified to teach any subject, while Barkhamsted pays $10 an hour for paras and $90 a day for substitute teachers.
Bard members recommended raising the paraprofessional rate to $10.60 an hour, and the substitute rate to $85 a day, and passed the recommendation along for consideration by the board’s Budget Committee. This recommendation was not enacted, Thibault said Thursday, but could be considered for inclusion in the next district budget.
The fill rate for substitute teachers in city schools ranged between 85 and 98 percent in January, according to documentation provided to the Personnel Committee, while the paraprofessional rate was between 51 and 84 percent.