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Board approves ESS substitute-staffing agreement; vendor to provide substitutes and vet district pool
Summary
The School City of East Chicago board approved a contract with ESS to supply substitutes through June 30, 2026. The agreement makes substitute employees ESS employees, allows a 90‑day reliance period on the district’s pool, permits termination with 30 days’ notice and contains no automatic renewal.
Board legal counsel and administration described the contract approved by trustees as an outsourcing arrangement for substitute staffing. Under the agreement, ESS would employ and pay substitute staff assigned to district schools; the district will provide a list of names from its existing substitute pool that ESS will rely upon initially and then vet during a 90‑day onboarding period.
Mister Snow, district legal counsel, summarized the deal: “The substitute staff are employees of the vendor and not of the school corporation.” The contract’s term runs through June 30, 2026, with no automatic renewal; either party may extend by written agreement. The agreement includes a termination-for-convenience clause allowing the district to end the contract with 30 days’ notice and requires payment only for services rendered through the termination date.
Human-resources staff told the board ESS expects to onboard substitutes and handle workers’ compensation and benefits for those employees. Board members asked how the arrangement will affect the district’s current substitute roster; HR said permanent district substitutes will need to apply through ESS and that the company will make efforts to streamline the transfer of locally used subs into its pool.
Cost context. During discussion a staff member described typical daily-rate differentials as an example — district-paid substitutes in some cases were described as being paid about $110 per day while the vendor pool might be billed at about $125 — but the board did not adopt a vendor price schedule at the meeting; the transcript shows that cost examples were raised during Q&A, not fixed in the motion.
Board action. Trustees voted to approve the ESS staffing agreement. The contract was presented as a year-long trial (through 2026) to evaluate vendor performance and to allow the district discretion to return to other arrangements if needed.
