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ISD 728 board approves new substitute pay schedule after review of coverage data
Summary
The Elk River School District board approved a revised substitute pay schedule setting midweek rates at $190 and Mondays/Fridays at $210 after trustees reviewed coverage data and scenarios intended to improve fill rates for hard-to-staff days.
The Elk River School District Board of Education approved a change to substitute pay rates at its Sept. 8 regular meeting, increasing midweek pay and further raising compensation for Mondays and Fridays to address chronic vacancies on those days.
Board members voted to set the substitute daily rate at $190 for Tuesday–Thursday and $210 for Mondays and Fridays. Director Kaske, who presented the proposal, said the district modeled several scenarios before the recommendation, aiming to increase fill rates on historically harder-to-staff days. "Our focus as we were looking at this was to try to entice substitutes to pick up Mondays and Fridays," Kaske said.
The board discussed alternative scenarios, including a structure that would have kept all days equal so long-standing substitutes would not see a pay decrease. Director Kaske said the administration had examined three pay scenarios and that the recommended structure prioritized raising compensation on Mondays and Fridays because last year those days showed lower coverage rates.
Board Chair Anderson recused themself from the vote, noting they work as a substitute teacher. The motion passed with the board voting to adopt the new rates. No roll-call vote with named tallies was recorded in the transcript; the board adopted the change by voice vote.
Why it matters: District officials told the board the district averages an approximately 80% substitute fill rate and that raising pay for the most difficult days aims to reduce the need for teacher coverage during colleagues' planning or prep time. Director Kaske said improving the fill rate reduces the number of teachers pulled from their planned duties to cover classes.
Details and follow-up: Director Kaske said the district filled daily absences at a higher rate in the opening week of school, but emphasized that flu season and later months tend to increase demand for substitutes. The administration will continue to monitor fill rates and reported the district had seven point sixty-six full-time-equivalent teacher positions unfilled at the start of the school year (these are small FTEs such as 0.15 or 0.2 positions).
