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Board discusses substitute shortage and use of 'funneling' in classrooms
Summary
Board members questioned administration about substitute-teacher shortages and the district's use of 'funneling' (moving students into other classrooms) as a last-resort response. Administration said the district uses Frontline Central, has 728 active substitutes and filled roughly 92% of positions in 2024–25, and will continue strategies including recruitment and policy review.
Board members spent a timed segment Sept. 18 discussing substitute-teacher availability after concerns from educators about students being reassigned to other classrooms when no substitute is available — a practice locally referred to as "funneling." The conversation focused on frequency, alternatives and whether policy or compensation changes could help.
A district operations representative said the district manages substitutes in-house, uses Frontline Central for absence management and reported a 92–93% fill rate in the 2024–25 year. The administration added there are roughly 728 active substitutes and 58 new substitute hires since Aug. 1. "We do provide our substitute services in house ... We do utilize Frontline Central," an administrator said, describing the automated system that lets substitutes view and pick open assignments.
The representative said the district considered third-party staffing agencies but found outsourcing costly compared with paying higher daily rates directly to the district's own substitutes. Board members and staff discussed additional measures under the district's strategic plan, including looking at leave and retirement-reimbursement policies and whether teacher-attendance incentives or changes to leave policies would reduce last-minute absences.
Administrators said funneling occurs infrequently at most schools and is a last resort when staffing shortfalls prevent safe supervision of classrooms. The district committed to further analysis, including school-level comparisons and options to reduce disruption for younger students.
