Parents want district to address shortage of substitute teachers
A nationwide shortage of substitute teachers is hitting Mars Area School District hard, and parents want the schoolboard to find solutions.
A standing-room-only crowd of parents asked the school board Tuesday to increase pay for substitutes or find another way to ensure that their children receive a proper education.
Mars Area has been pulling in special area teachers, such as music, art and physical education, to cover classrooms when the regular teachers are absent.
“My son hasn’t had music for three weeks,” Lee Ann Riner said. “We really have to find more subs.”
Julia Konitzky said her son hasn’t had gym, music or art classes in a month.
Mars Area revised its schedule for special areas last year, going to a five-day rotation to ensure that students don’t miss too many of the same class because of days off. But that move is moot if the special area teachers are pulled into regular classrooms as subs, parents said.
Education Week reported in January that the substitute teacher shortage is a nationwide problem, but that it is “dire” in Pennsylvania. The state Department of Education issued 16,361 new teacher certifications in 2012-13, but only 6,215 in 201415.
A new state law allows education majors with 60 credits to substitute for up to 20 days per year.
According to the National Education Association, substitutes in Pennsylvania must get an emergency certificate if they don’t have certification in the area where they are needed, but can get emergency certificates only in four areas and cannot teach for more than 15 days in a single area with an emergency certificate.
The NEA reports that many districts have raised the pay for substitutes, some instituting a multi-tier rate with higher salaries kicking in after a substitute works a certain number of days.
Mars Area district parents urged the school board to do both.
“This is not a poor district. If we don’t have the money for these basic needs, we need to raise taxes,” Theresa Bender said.
Mrs. Bender said her daughter cannot access the library two days each week because the librarian teaches classes.
Parent Jennifer McAfee, a teacher, also suggested that the board look to hire stayat-home moms with teaching certifications. The mom could substitute in the school that her child attends.
“The pressure will stay on until this problem is fixed,” she said. “My kids are missing ‘specials’ because of your sub shortage.”
MONROEVILLE