Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board discusses pay for adult supports and substitutes as district evaluates retention options
Summary
The board discussed historical pay rates and current daily pay arrangements for adult supports, health-room assistants, and substitutes; staff reported increases over recent years and board members urged exploring bonuses or a tiered pay scale to improve retention.
Board members pressed district personnel staff during the Sept. 9 meeting to clarify pay for positions on daily pay rates, citing confusion after announcements that classified staff would receive a 4% increase.
Scott Matthews provided historical context for positions often paid a flat daily rate: adult supports and health-room assistants were paid $75/day in 2019, rose to $90/day during the pandemic, and were reported in the record as $120/day with benefits in the most recent adjustment. Matthews described permanent substitutes (assigned to a single building) and daily substitutes: current rates discussed were $125/day for noncertified substitutes and $150/day for certified substitutes. He noted adult supports are IEP-driven positions that can be created or changed as IEP teams revise student needs, which is why their assignments and pay structures differ from year-to-year salaried classified staff.
Board members including Miss Bates and others urged the administration to consider changes to provide longevity or guaranteed increases for adult supports, including exploring a tiered pay scale or targeted bonuses to aid recruitment and retention for these hard-to-fill positions. "We may not be able to give them the full salary," one member said, "but we can possibly look at what we can do in order to supplement what they're getting." The board did not adopt a new pay policy during the meeting; members asked staff to study options for future consideration.
Why it matters: adult supports and health-room assistants work directly with students who have significant needs and are integral to classroom operations; board members framed pay adjustments as part of broader teacher recruitment and retention strategy.
Clarifying details provided at the meeting included current daily pay levels and the benefits packages available to adult supports and health-room assistants, and that permanent substitutes are dedicated to a single school with pay rates consistent with daily substitute scales.
Next steps: staff said they would continue to evaluate compensation approaches and report back to the board; one board member suggested exploring a bonus for the affected employees while longer-term pay-scale changes are considered.
