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Charlotte County Public Schools reports 95.5% teacher substitute fill rate, proposes mentors for support staff
Summary
District staff reported a 95.5% teacher substitute fill rate and modest gains in support‑staff sub coverage, recommended mentors for paraprofessionals and support staff, and outlined a 23% year‑over‑year increase in total medical and RX claims driven partly by higher participation and an HSA eligibility change.
Charlotte County Public Schools staff told the board that teacher substitute fill rates are at 95.5% this school year and outlined a series of workforce and benefits changes intended to improve retention and employee wellness.
A district staff member said the district logged roughly 5,000 substitute jobs so far this year versus about 15,000 at the same point last year and attributed most of the numerical difference to a process change that no longer requires non‑classroom employees to log a “no‑sub‑required” entry. The presenter added that teacher sub coverage is strong (95.5%) while support‑staff coverage rose slightly from 69.5% to 70.3% after the district cleared records of people who had not picked up jobs in years and updated payroll reporting. "We had a 95.5% fill rate when it comes to teachers," the staff member said.
The staff presentation also recommended expanding mentoring beyond teachers to include paraprofessionals, custodians and food‑service workers; officials said mentoring for those groups may have budget implications and could be referred to the bargaining team. "New employees need mentors," the presenter said, noting the recommendation came from the steering committee and will be referred to site leadership for review and adaptation.
On benefits and open enrollment, the district reviewed four years of Centria data and reported a 23% increase in all claims year over year. The presenter pointed to three main drivers: nationwide medical cost inflation, greater plan participation and a change in HSA practice that now prorates eligibility for hires during the year. Staff noted two very high‑cost claimants exceeded $500,000 this year (the district’s stop‑loss threshold is $370,000) and said most other claimants were below $100,000.
Wellness and Benefits VIP usage also trended upward: wellness clinic engagement increased from about 69.8% to 71.7%, the net promoter score from the clinic was about 85% (61 surveys), and the district reported roughly 74% employee engagement on the 2026 participation plan so far. Benefits VIP contacts (June 2025–January 2026) were cited as a helpful resource for new hires and employees with life/work events; the district reported a Benefits Administration engagement benchmark of 53.2% compared with peers.
Staff outlined operational steps to contain costs, including using the district clinic for occupational‑health services (drug testing and work‑related injuries), and announced a new "stay" survey to be rolled out to staff before the end of the school year to gather input on retention. The district also said it will recognize long‑service employees at the April board meeting with challenge coins and service pins for 20/25/30/35 years.
The board asked questions about housing costs and retention and praised the district for the substitute fill rate and rising wellness engagement. No formal board action on these staffing or benefits recommendations was recorded in the transcript; the items were presented for information and follow‑up.
