SAUGUS — The School Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to raise the daily rate paid to substitute teachers to $110 and implement a $125 rate for licensed teachers or retired teachers whose licenses might have lapsed.
School Committee Chairman Vincent Serino said the move, which raised substitute-teacher pay from the prior $90 daily rate, serves to make Saugus more competitive with neighboring districts. He added that the $125 rate provides additional compensation for those with more experience who might be able to handle more challenging assignments.
“The reason for that is just a little bit more understanding of a classroom, how to handle the classroom — there’s a value in that,” he said. “There’s a value in having your license and being versed in being a classroom teacher.”
The move was first discussed in February when former Deputy Superintendent Margo Ferrick brought the idea of increasing pay before the Finance Sub Committee. She and Acting Superintendent Michael Hashem said the district was having difficulty attracting substitutes. At the time, Hashem suggested the tiered rate, which garnered additional discussion at a sub committee meeting this week.
On Monday, Hashem told the subcommittee he felt the additional pay was warranted for more experienced educators.
“If it was an elementary-school teacher, a former elementary-school teacher subbing at the elementary-school level, you could definitely make a case they would have better knowledge and ability to do whatever needed to be done for that day,” he said. “At a secondary level, to say you’d have a licensed teacher, they’d know the ropes.”
And, Hashem told committee members that the district tends to have difficulty retaining longer-term substitutes beyond the 45-day mark because of the low pay.
“That’s when you start to get somebody where they need more skills, they have to have more dedication, and $90 a day is not going to suffice,” he said.
By raising the rate, Saugus aligns itself more closely with surrounding districts, with Wakefield offering a rate of $100 per day and Melrose offering the same $110 daily rate.
School Committee member Dennis Gould lauded the raises as a way for the district to better compensate “very valuable” substitutes.
“Obviously we want kids in front of teachers and having licensed teachers is even better because they can actually probably do a little bit better on the teaching aspect of it,” he said. “It’s well needed.”
