A bump in substitute pay has been effective in filling Higley USD’s needs, but is quickly draining the budget for subs, district officials said.
HUSD has spent $656,317.48 on substitutes thus far this year, according to a district document presented to the governing board at its Jan. 18 meeting.
The district budgeted $1 million for the school year on the item and has an open purchase order for that amount with Educational Services Inc., a vendor that works with the district to coordinate filling calls for substitutes, according to that report.
The board approved a district recommendation Sept. 21 that the district hike substitute pay from $125 per day to $165, and, for long-term subs, from $145 per day to $185, with that latter rate also holding for hard-to-fill Monday and Friday vacancies.
At the time the district said it was having difficulty getting substitutes because other districts were paying higher rates. The board then unanimously approved the recommendation.
“In meet-and-confer (negotiations with the Higley Education Association), they are getting positive feedback that we are filling these positions now thanks to this recommendation,” Associate Superintendent Sherry Richards said. “That has had an impact on our budget, but I think it’s well worth it.”
District officials said another pay hike could be needed next year to remain competitive if other districts continue to raise their substitute rates again.
Chief Financial Officer Tyler Moore said the district would come back to a board meeting in February or March with a request to increase the budgeted amount, once the district has a firmer idea of how much will be needed to finish the year.
In other board meeting items:
Special Education Executive Director Shauna Miller gave the board an overview of the district’s various special education programs.
In a separate item, the district reported it continues to contract with six day schools to provide special education services to students with the most complex needs. Through the second quarter of the fiscal year, that was for 81 students with the district encumbering more than $1.25 million to pay for the expense. However, the district is on track to stay under budget for the year by nearly $157,000.
During the consent agenda, during which a bulk of generally non-controversial items are passed together without discussion, new board member Anna Van Hoek questioned several expenses and the meaning of some reports. Any board member can pull an item off the consent agenda for separate vote or discussion. Fellow board members and district officials answered her questions, and the agenda passed 5-0. Moore also agreed to present the expenses by an Excel spreadsheet in the future rather than in PDF format.
The meeting represented the first for Van Hoek and Amanda Wade, who were elected in November. At a board retreat Jan. 14, Tiffany Shultz was elected board president for the coming year and Michelle Anderson vice president.
Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on Twitter. To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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