Schools may outsource substitutes
Unfilled jobs are teacher concern.
When Columbia Public Schools sent out a survey about substitute teachers, the district got a big response — the second-largest of any employee survey since staff members were asked about funding cuts.
"Teachers are passionate about this topic," said Dana Clippard, assistant superintendent for human resources.
Clippard talked to the Columbia Board of Education last month about issues with filling substitute teacher positions. The district's schools had a 92.72 percent fill rate last school year and have an average of six unfilled jobs a day.
In September, Clippard discussed possible ways to improve that, including the idea of hiring a pool of 30 permanent substitutes who would get district benefits but could not turn down assignments. The district had