Districts in urgent need of substitute teachers as school year starts - East Idaho News
Coronavirus

Districts in urgent need of substitute teachers as school year starts

  Published at

IDAHO FALLS — Local school districts are asking for help in finding substitute teachers this year.

Bonneville School District 93 Sub Placement Clerk Nancy Peterson needs to have at least 200 subs by Monday, the first day of school. As of Wednesday, she said she’s “well under that.”

Compared to this time last year, Peterson noted that substitutes for the district are down about 30%.

“We’ve had quite a few subs who have chosen not to come back just because of the COVID situation, so we’re really short on subs,” she said.

Peterson explained some people who worked as substitutes in the past are parents who are now homeschooling their children.

In Idaho Falls School District 91, Kelly Coughenour, assistant superintendent of elementary education, said some of their substitutes are wanting to wait COVID-19 out before stepping foot in a classroom. Some of them fall into the high-risk category and don’t want to risk their health in a school setting, he added.

“Typically at the beginning of the year, we have 100 plus substitutes. Right now, we have about 50,” Coughenour said.

In a recent survey that Jefferson School District Business Manager Bryce Bronson conducted of their active substitutes, he found roughly 1/3 are not returning. Of the respondents to the survey, 25% of those leaving stated the reason is due to the pandemic.

Not every sub responded to the survey. The district has about 90 active subs and Bronson estimated around 60 replied.

“Every year there is turnover as subs find other jobs or decide to stay home, but this is an extremely high number,” Bronson said.

Peterson said it’s unknown what will happen with COVID-19, but administrators are taking every precaution to make sure teachers and substitutes are protected while teaching.

Coughenour explained that not only do they have safety measures in place, but from a job standpoint, subbing is flexible.

“It’s a great job. You can pick and choose where you want to sub (and) when you want to sub,” Peterson said. “If you want to sub every day, I’m sure the possibility will be there this year.”

Substitutes must have a high school diploma or equivalent.

To substitue for District 93, contact Peterson at (208) 557-6821 or via email at PetersoN@d93.k12.id.us. To sub for Jefferson School District, visit their website or contact the district office at (208) 745-6693 and ask for Alisa Klassen. To sub for District 91, apply on the district’s website.

SUBMIT A CORRECTION