Chula Vista Elementary district increases pay, starts marketing campaign to recruit substitutes

The Chula Vista Elementary School District board voted to nearly double substitute teacher pay, begin a marketing campaign to recruit substitutes and to hire at least one full-time substitute to work at each school site in an emergency meeting Wednesday night.

The district’s substitute teacher shortage has caused classes of students to be split up and reassigned to other classrooms for the day and principals to be pulled from their offices in order to cover classes, according to district officials. This makes it difficult to “provide instruction, supervise students and, without immediate action, poses substantial risk to the health and safety of students,” stated the agenda.

The Chula Vista Elementary School District, which has year-round school, had the first group of students begin the school year in mid-July.

In order to recruit and retain substitute teachers the board voted to temporarily increase substitute pay and to begin a marketing campaign to recruit substitutes from the community.  The board agreed to increase the daily pay rate for substitutes from $122 to $200. It also increased the pay of substitutes who work in long-term assignments — more than 30 days — from $180 to $283 a day.

District staff cited soaring substitute teacher salaries and the need to be competitive with the pay being offered in neighboring districts as the reason for the pay raises.

The board also voted to to hire one full-time substitute for each school of 500 or fewer students and two for each school with more than 500 students.

The cost will be paid from Covid-19 relief funds, according to the district.