GFPS board approves pay raise for substitute teachers as pandemic shrinks school staff

The Great Falls Public School board on Monday unanimously approved a request to reinstate a pay incentive for substitute teachers.

During the meeting, the action item, “additional pay for substitute teachers” was proposed to be reinstated from November and December of last year.

Two weeks ago, GFPS was impacted by the spike of COVID-19 cases and related illnesses, which left roughly 54 classrooms vacant across GFPS schools with a lack of available substitutes.

Officials hope the additional pay will help recruit substitutes and retain them in the system.

Kerry Dattilo, GFPS human resource director, proposed during the meeting the use of the one-time ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) to pay substitutes that meet the criteria.

She recommended approving “additional compensation of $400 for substitutes who work a minimum of 25 days, Feb. 1 through March 31 and then another $400 for those who work a minimum of 25 days from April 1 to May 31." GFPS is estimated to spend $20,000 and would be able to stay within the budget.

An additional pay incentive was first approved back in November and December 2021. Dattilo said for the “November/December incentive we spent about $8,800 with 22 substitutes meeting that requirement for the additional comp(ensation)." She mentioned that the substitute pay incentive did work in their favor.

During a Facebook Live event on Jan. 16, Superintendent Tom Moore also addressed a pay raise for substitutes and teachers. GFPS has been advertising and looking to recruit and hire a variety of positions in GFPS, especially more substitutes.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: GFPS board approves pay raise incentive for substitute teachers