Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Staffing And Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and staff press board on substitute pay, staffing and campus safety; district proposes trained substitute program and facility upgrades
Summary
Public commenters and union representatives urged higher pay for substitutes and more staffing; the district described immediate and planned responses including a pilot of 10 designated substitutes at $22 per hour, CPR training rollout, window tinting and a traffic study at three schools.
Numerous speakers during public comment urged the Chula Vista Elementary School District Board to raise substitute pay and to address chronic shortages of classified staff that they say leave classrooms and campuses understaffed. Classified-employee representatives, substitutes and parents described operational impacts: offices left unstaffed, students unsupervised during lunch and lengthy gaps when specialized support staff were absent.
Speakers repeatedly cited the district's current daily substitute rate of $16.50 per hour and said that wage levels are not competitive with neighboring jurisdictions, which reduces the pool of available substitutes. Several classified employees described being asked to perform duties outside their job descriptions, including medical-related tasks for which they said they were not trained.
District response and short-term actions
District staff and trustees acknowledged the staffing pressures and described multiple immediate and near-term measures:
- Designated substitute pilot: Staff described a program to create 10 trained, district-designated substitute assistants who would be paid $22 per hour; these substitutes would be deployed across sites where absences most frequently occur. The district committed to providing a fiscal estimate and to identifying the offsetting reductions if the pilot is implemented districtwide.
- Payroll/fiscal analysis: The business office agreed to provide a cost analysis showing how higher substitute pay could be funded, including potential program offsets.
- Safety and facilities: Staff presented plans to install window tinting and to expand camera coverage at selected school sites; tinted film installations are planned to be completed by June 30 at some campuses. Administrators also announced expanded CPR training beginning in July to increase on-site capacity for emergency response and said they will purchase equipment to run the courses in-district.
- Traffic and site safety study: The district will conduct traffic studies at three school sites that currently rely on cones and informal traffic controls; recommendations will be forwarded to the city for traffic-calming measures. Staff said those findings will be shared at the June board meeting.
- Nutrition program change: A 'second-chance' breakfast program will be reintroduced at eight community schools; short-term options such as granola bars are already in place while the department of student nutrition modifies bell schedules to accommodate a breakfast service before 10 a.m.
Public comment and next steps
Union representatives reiterated that improved compensation and clearer job descriptions are necessary to retain classified staff. Parents highlighted safety incidents on buses and gaps in staff training for students with special needs. Trustees asked staff to return with quantifiable fiscal estimates, a timeline for the substitute pilot, and a plan to make CPR training available regionally within the district.
The board did not vote on pay-rate changes during the meeting; trustees directed staff to prepare the requested analyses and return with options.
