An email went out to all subs that you would make $25 more a day for the 2020-2021 school year
I’m high risk age and respiratory issues but at least it’s something
i see tons of sub openings here, it seems like they are really struggling to get coverage, but no increase in pay. when i last checked, it looked like they might actually be paying less?! for long-term (but i'm not positive, because i have always avoided long-term jobs).
I'd say for a substitute teacher who works regularly and is expected to show up in person to different classrooms every day, the risk of contracting covid is actually far greater than a fulltime teacher or administrator who goes to the same classroom/office every day. Yet we're paid the least, and when raises are offered -- which is rare -- it's honestly a slap in the face. Especially considering the way we were pretty much all dropped in March with no communication until June, when we were all given a "letter of reasonable assurance" to stop us from collecting CARES act unemployment over the summer. And then we still received no information in the months leading up to the start of a school year -- a year that turned out to be bereft of jobs and not very "assured" at all. And to even begin working again, we were all expected to do a mountain of extra training and safety protocol for working in hazardous environments, all with no pay increase and not even a "hey sorry about basically ghosting you in March and screwing you on unemployment for months." My district hasn't even acknowledged that. A raise isn't even deserved at this point. It should be compensation for all of that bull####. When any other job had to let people go because of covid, they told them the situation, fired them legitimately, and they were able to collect unemployment immediately. When subs got let go because of covid, they were kept in the dark and given a letter in June to stop them from collecting until August when it turned out that haha whoops, turns out our "assurance" was a load of buII####.
We got a raise here a few years ago. One of the longtime substitutes told me it was the first one he'd seen in over ten years. And everybody got it. I got it despite only working in the district for a year and having very little experience at the time. He got it despite waiting around for over 10 years and being one of their most sought after substitute teachers. They don't even try to increase for cost of living or performance or demand or anything. If that trend is the same in your district, then that 25 dollar bump was probably the first raise handed out in many many years. It's likely a technical loss when you compare it to cost of living increases and inflation. And now the raise that should've happened years ago is expected to be some kind of temporary mock hazard pay. And to top it off, if you get sick, you're an independent contractor! You don't get that teacher healthcare option, and even if they dangle the opt-in option over your head, the cost to opt in is basically impossible to do on a sub's salary. Very cool!
Honestly, man. Yeah. "At least it's something." But it's a sad state of affairs either way. In my district there's not even a pay raise, and I've seen some cases where substitutes are being paid less because some administrator just figured it's easier work with lots of the kids being online, so the pay should be cut. So I'm taking my time, living on savings I was lucky enough to have, and only going in when my good friends call me and need the help. That phone barely rings just because nobody needs subs at the moment, but when it does, it rings for hours. A job came in just the other day, "long term" but cut off just before the 21st day so whoever took it would basically do 4 weeks worth of work but would get screwed out of long term pay at the last second. The instructions left by the teacher in the call included really basic plans for one (1) day of instruction, and it was special ed as just the cherry on top. Of course nobody took it. My phone was popping off for days. "Hey, wanna risk your health and your sanity for 4 weeks straight for sub-par pay and then get screwed out of good money at the last minute? C'mooooon it'll be fun, you can design a whooooole lesson plan while the district throws you under the bus when things go wrong haha"
I wish I could sit in on these meetings where they discuss the sub shortage issue, and they go over every avenue except a salary increase for 5 years straight. I see it everywhere. "We really need more subs who have degrees and are qualified and passionate about teaching... but oh, we want to pay them like they're fast food workers. Darn, man, why do we have these shortages I just don't get it bro, maybe if we cut their salary during a pandemic after half a year of just cutting them loose with complete radio silence and screwing their attempts to get unemployment, then they'll come back haha yeah that'll do it-- what do you mean they found retail jobs that treat them better oh no no no"
Only school to increase the pay, did so, but dropped the temp agency. I can guess how much they were getting to get subs to work at there. Increase was 45 dollars.
Only notice was a text message sent asking us to contact school and resubmit all paperwork.
If they give a pay hike to any one here ,it makes me real happy .
Because it is rare rare thing to get a dollar hike for a ten year duration also .
Same like other posters I feel .
Such a way ,why they treat substitute teachers ?
We have to renew certification ,do work in hazard condition videos and pass it .
Daily work in different classes with risk of Covid different groups of students .
We doing riskiest jobs now among all of them in school dist .
Still they don’t pay anything extra more to cover if any ill health comes to us .
And be silently either neglect or try not to get unemployment in last March .
If we complain for less pay ,the answer always is .
We give only this .
You may leave and start to work in grocery store after if you want .
After all these college and certifications in hand ?
Is that the answer they should give ?
In my school dists ,most of subs I see are doing their job best .
Long days or daily .
They are dressing professionally and decent .
On time reaching .
Not browsing in phone .
But caring students .
Now the job I feel is more as I have to look over each computer for their work whether it is finished or in games .
I am not given a computer like teacher to monitor the screens at their desk (though they officially gave us a brisk google class training for an hour )
If I give a coloring marker ,I have to sanitize before giving .
Then resanitize before taking back .
After each block leaves ,I am wiping off chairs and desks .
Then extra cafeteria duty .
Once students leave ,I wipe the chairs tables they sat from my class .
Most subs I am seeing .
They do hard work these days .
Then why this indifference when every single employee in the dist has pay hike after covid?
Aillya- I believe you should have been able to collect your Cares act money. I would keep fighting that.
I have had no job offers and only one district was using subs for virtual subbing. Teachers are not using Aesop and just giving jobs to their preferred subs, another part of the game that is rigged.
After the summer ended, months down the line, I was able to collect. But during those months when I actually needed the money and was stressing out about it, the payments stopped. From what I understood, anyone who applied saying they worked in education were put on a pause here until late August for the duration of the summer. It was really stressful at the time, since usually I go through the summer on money saved from working January through June, but half of that didn't exist due to basically being fired without notice by every district at once.
Our teacher contract delineates sub pay. Our subs are not part of our union, but that is where their provisions are negotiated, because teachers can receive penalties related to sub services, and they have to match the cost of a sub for the district - it doesn’t actually have anything to do with the sub.
I see a lot of contracted or hired subs on here. Our subs are more like freelancers. They are on a sub list, but they are not employed by the district.
I hope what I say next comes across correctly. I think this is true for any job. I think that there is a point where you as an individual can look at the situation you tolerate at your job - and say that you have had enough. When you hit that point, it is up to you to walk away and find something that treats you the way you expect and deserve. Schools are not that place right now and it’s not 100% their fault. That not to say there weren’t problems before. BUT, this pandemic has taken many things out of districts’ control, and money is frequently one of them. If you feel you can’t survive this era as a sub, there’s nothing wrong with that - a lot of people aren’t sure their role in education will survive this. If that is you, it’s okay to start looking for other opportunities. I don’t think anyone would blame you.
Being able to give our side of a complaint is something everybody should get, even the employee at Burger King. We shouldn't have to switch jobs to get basic things, such as an opportunity to defend ourselves.
People complain about unions, but look what happens when people don't have a union to give basic protections like due process.
It's easy to say when you're one of the teachers with these protections. Would you just "find something else" if your teacher pay went down to $60/day?
This is why I think people should stay in their lane.
I apologize to the teachers that bring value to this list. I know that there are some. The teachers in here who are not acting like subs are idiots that need everything spelled out for them (have you ever thought about getting a different job? Oh, gee, never thought of that until you mentioned it). Or, "Do you realize that things are different during a pandemic?" Really? Didn't know that until you told us.
I have never had a problem with teachers in here until they start acting like a few in here have, just recently. Most of the teachers in here bring value.