Beaufort County schools address substitute shortage with 3rd interview blitz

An interview blitz for prospective substitute teachers this month will have to bring in about three times as many people as last year to meet the vast needs of the Beaufort County School District.

The district hopes to expand its pool of available substitutes from 254 to 500 during an Oct. 19 event in which teachers, principals and assistant principals will interview dozens of prescreened applicants, according to Alice Walton, chief administrative services and human resources officer.

Last year, the district brought on 75 people following its blitz. The year before, when the district first held the event, it hired about 60.

While those additions greatly help the district fill empty classrooms, they have not been enough to make up for the substitutes who retire, move, become full-time certified educators or -- in some cases -- turn down the job because of the low pay. Over the summer alone, 85 substitutes left the district's pool, according to Walton.

And when efforts to find a substitute fail, other teachers must fill in, forfeiting their planning time, Walton said. When teachers fill in as a substitute in another class, they receive a stipend equal to their hourly rate.

"It happens more often than we would like for it to happen," she said. "We've found that works when we're in dire straits. Our goal is to keep that from happening as much as possible."

Still, she said she is optimistic the blitz will bring a record number of new substitutes. As of Monday, 95 people had submitted applications online.

"We have high hopes for this one," Walton said.

She added, "if our numbers don't look like what we need to, we'll go back out and do it all over again."

Prescreened candidates selected to attend the blitz, and who successfully complete the interview process, will return later for orientation and training sessions before officially joining the substitute pool, according to the district.

The district holds substitutes to a higher standard than the state, requiring a four-year college degree.

In addition, long-term substitutes must be retired or certified teachers. Walton said so far, the district has not had to make exceptions to place uncertified teachers in those classrooms.

Those higher-level substitutes also make more than others -- $90 for a full day compared to $75 earned by those with only a college degree.

Walton said she was not sure when those rates last increased, though it has been at least a decade.

While a pay raise did not come up during last year's budget discussions, she said she expects that to change this year.

"You prioritize your needs in the district, and I guess substitutes were not on the top of our priority list," Walton said. "But it moved up. We are really pushing to get that 500 number."

"It's competitive right now," Walton added of substitute's pay. "Is it where it should be? I'm not saying that it is."

The district is also working to fill 20 full-time classroom vacancies. Though hirings for four of those positions are being finalized this week, the vacancies are still concerning, Walton said.

Anyone interested in applying to the district can visit the hiring website, applitrack.com/beaufort/onlineapp. Applications for substitutes are due by Monday, Oct. 12.

For more information, contact Jessica Plemmons at 843-322-2337.

Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.

Related content:

• School district seeks to hire more than 50 substitute teachers, December 5, 2013

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 9:02 AM with the headline "Beaufort County schools address substitute shortage with 3rd interview blitz."