ESS reports improved substitute‑fill rates; district moves from 76% to 97% overall fill in multi‑year span
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Summary
ESS, the district’s substitute‑staffing partner, told the board an overall substitute fill rate improved from about 76 percent in an earlier reporting period to 97 percent in the most recent year, driven by recruitment, building‑based substitutes and daily coordination.
ESS (substitute staffing partner) presented year‑over‑year data showing improved substitute coverage across the district and described steps used to increase fill rates.
ESS account managers Natalie Williams (senior regional manager) and Jerry Stark (account manager) reported three multi‑period snapshots. For the earliest period shown (July through May of an earlier year), the vendor reported 7,715 filled absences and 2,441 unfilled absences, for a fill rate the presenter summarized as roughly 76 percent. In the following year (ending May 2024) ESS reported 8,609 absences with 809 unfilled for a 91 percent fill rate. In the most recent period presented the vendor reported 10,243 filled absences and 319 unfilled absences for an overall 97 percent fill rate.
ESS provided category breakdowns: the early snapshot showed particularly low staff‑assistant coverage (58 percent fill); ESS said staff‑assistant fill rose to roughly 84 percent in the second year and to the mid‑90s (district quote varied) in its most recent reporting. Food‑service and teacher coverage also improved year over year. The vendor credited the improvements to a combination of: dedicated building‑based substitutes, active recruitment and onboarding of reliable substitute staff, daily real‑time coordination across schools, and incentives and pay adjustments for certain hard‑to‑fill roles. ESS also described outreach, surveys of substitutes and an annual recognition event to keep substitutes engaged.
Board members asked about long‑term assignments, pay differentials for long‑term fills, training for special‑education support and whether substitutes can move from substitute positions into permanent district roles. ESS said that pay differentials and long‑term incentives exist (for example, pay increases after several weeks in a long‑term assignment) and that some substitutes have successfully transitioned into school‑based positions. ESS said it conducts surveys and also gathers substitute feedback at an end‑of‑year event to identify improvement areas.
The board praised ESS for the improvements and discussed the benefit of administrators and other staff occasionally doing in‑class assignments to better understand substitute challenges. ESS said it will continue recruitment, training and communication efforts and provide follow‑up reports to the district.
