The School City of East Chicago Board of Trustees on Aug. 25 discussed a proposal to contract with ESS for substitute-teacher staffing, a move administrators said would align with the district’s academic-support goals and could reduce the burden on classroom teachers. "It is the proposal for the ESS staffing services which aligns with our strategic plan goal number 1 on academic supports," Superintendent Dr. Burney told the board.

District staff framed the change as an operational step to reduce unfilled classroom assignments and their effect on instructional time. "When we have an unfilled classroom vacancy ... that teacher's class, if they're at the elementary level, is split amongst their peers" and at the secondary level other teachers must give up planning time, Dr. Burney said. The board heard that the district currently reports a roughly 95% substitute fill rate but that about a dozen vacancies across the district sometimes remained unfilled.

Dr. McJunkins presented per-day cost comparisons the district has compiled. "We pay [a non-degree substitute] $100 per day," McJunkins said; district pay for substitutes with a bachelor's degree was cited as $110 and for retired or certified substitute teachers $150. McJunkins said ESS charges an all-in rate that includes payroll taxes, unemployment and workers' compensation: "They charge $133.53 for a non degree sub teacher" and quoted higher inclusive rates for more experienced substitutes.

Trustees asked operational and fiscal questions. Trustee Smith asked whether providing the service belonged in HR; staff replied the function has been moved to HR but that HR continues active recruitment and that partnering with ESS would give the district access to a larger, trained pool. Trustee Taylor asked whether the ESS rates include an additional service fee; board members were told the per-day rates shown are ESS’s all-inclusive rates and that a roughly $33-per-placement component described by staff represented the vendor’s margin on top of the base pay the district otherwise would have paid. Trustee Taylor also asked whether the district could pilot the service for a short term; staff said a year-to-year contract with an initial shorter trial period (through December 2025) was being considered and could be included in the contract negotiations.

Administrators emphasized training and special-needs coverage as selling points: McJunkins said ESS can provide paraprofessionals trained for certain special-education duties, such as feeding and other medical needs. Board members repeatedly distinguished between discussion and any final action; the item was presented as a discussion to prepare for the board’s Aug. 26 meeting, not as an approved contract.

If trustees direct staff to pursue a contract, the board will return with draft contract terms and a recommended length for the initial term and any pilot. No formal vote on the ESS staffing proposal occurred at the Aug. 25 work session. Ending: Board members asked for a breakdown of the presented rates in the meeting materials to be included in the packet for the Aug. 26 meeting so they could review the comparative costs before any vote.