Central York reports improved substitute fill rates after pay and staffing changes

Central York School District staff reported measurable improvement in substitute coverage at the board’s Jan. 27 action meeting, saying higher daily pay and added building substitutes helped raise fill rates from about 50% last year to substantially better rates this school year.

District officials presented a midyear substitute update to the board and said changes implemented over the past year — including higher daily pay, added building substitutes, free lunch for substitutes, district T-shirts and building-level technology — contributed to improved coverage.

At the meeting, a staff presenter identified as Joe summarized the district’s approach and data. He said the district moved from a roughly 50% professional-position fill rate last year to stronger month-by-month percentages this school year. “The day-to-day sub rate definitely helped,” Joe said, adding that August began the year strong and that the district recorded fill rates in the 70s and 80s in several months. He noted December’s fill rate was about 79% this school year and that some months earlier in the previous year had hovered in the mid-50s.

Administrators said they increased the number of building substitutes and aimed for at least one building sub at each location, with a goal of three at the high school and two at the middle school, plus special-education floaters. The district reported being fully staffed for substitutes at the high school and middle school, with some buildings still sharing one person between sites. Staff said special-education floater positions remain difficult to fill and STS (the district’s substitute service) continues to advertise.

Board members asked which single change had the biggest effect on fill rates. Joe said the pay increase was the clearest driver for day-to-day jobs, and that the combination of pay and other supports made substitutes more likely to accept assignments. A board member asked how the district compares to county peers; staff said they did not have an exact countywide comparison at the meeting but believed Central York’s position had improved relative to last year.

District presenters stressed that low fill rates have direct classroom impacts — at secondary levels, teachers may lose planning time to cover classes; at elementary levels, students may be redistributed into other classrooms. The administration said they continue to work with STS to increase candidate flow and that they will keep monitoring localized staffing across buildings.

Clarifying details presented at the meeting included: the previous year’s professional-position fill rate was “a little more than 50%”; building-sub staffing targets (three at the high school, two at the middle school, one at most elementary sites); December fill rate about 79% for the current year; school-year month-by-month snapshots showing August started strong (above 80–90%) then dipped and later recovered.

The substitute update was presented as an information item; no formal board action beyond questions and discussion was recorded. Staff said the district will continue recruitment and refinement of building-level substitute strategies.