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Laredo ISD staff review proposed increases to substitute pay, warn cost could push substitute budget above $3 million
Summary
District staff presented a plan to raise substitute pay across categories, estimate the change would add roughly $189,000 to short-term substitute costs and could push total substitute outlays above $3 million; trustees and staff discussed using substitute funding to incentivize hiring into full-time positions and the tradeoffs involved.
Gabby Rogelio, budget presenter for Laredo ISD, told trustees at a June 11 workshop that the district is proposing increases to multiple substitute pay categories and that the estimated additional cost "for just this category of the substitute teachers will be $96,010," she said.
The proposal includes raising short- and long-term substitute teacher daily rates, raising substitute nurse pay from $1.72 to $2.00 per hour, and increasing pay for food-service and custodial substitutes from $9 to $11 per hour. Rogelio estimated that, with those and related adjustments, the district's substitute expenditures would rise from the current reported $2.8 million to more than $3 million.
Board members and staff debated whether reallocating existing substitute funds could be used to shore up other needs. Trustee Juan Ramirez Jr. and others discussed the possibility of using about $400,000 currently spent on substitute positions to cover insurance or other costs if the district reduced substitute usage, noting that some substitutes might accept full-time jobs if offered higher starting pay. "If we incentivize for them to actually become an employee of the district versus having substitute nurse, food, custodial, transportation...those $400,000 are used for the insurance," a trustee said during the meeting.
Trustees also pressed staff on how frequently substitute roles are needed and the distinction between short-term coverage (sick leave, training coverage) and long-term vacancies. Rogelio said the district currently uses substitutes for classroom coverage, extracurricular duties and to fill vacancies and that some categories of substitutes are already paid at or above neighboring United ISD (UISD) levels; in other categories she recommended at least a $4 increase to better match UISD.
Trustees discussed operational tradeoffs. Trustee Rodolfo Morales urged more efficient use of staff-development (in‑service) days to reduce substitute needs for planning and training. Several trustees suggested surveying substitutes on whether pay frequency (being paid twice monthly versus monthly) or base pay better influences where they choose to work; Doctor Gilberto Martinez Jr. said some substitutes reported they preferred more frequent pay rather than higher per-day rates.
Administrators flagged additional detail and next steps: staff said they would provide a full breakdown of substitute categories, confirm counts (some line items appeared duplicated in slide materials) and follow up with a short-term plan for use of substitute funding and longer-term strategies to convert substitutes into full-time staff where appropriate.
Trustees did not take a formal vote at the workshop; staff were directed to refine the cost estimates and return with clarifications before adoption of the budget publication and vote scheduled later this month.
