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Warren County School Board hears report on substitute staffing as absences jump
Summary
At the Oct. 15 work session the Warren County School Board received a substitute-staffing report showing a rise in absences month over month, a district fill rate in the mid-to-high 70s, and plans to boost recruitment and retention through targeted incentives and quarterly reporting.
Good evening. The Warren County School Board received an update Oct. 15 on substitute staffing and recent absence trends, including specific figures the district said it will follow up on.
Mr. Smith opened the presentation and introduced Amy Chanley, the district representative who handles substitute recruiting. "The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows," he said before turning to Chanley to summarize recent outreach efforts. Chanley told the board she attended multiple community and college recruiting events and that the district runs a "sub of the week" recognition program and targeted mailers to encourage coverage.
Chanley reported that the district is seeing roughly a mid-70s percent fill rate: the presentation listed a 76% district fill rate (with other adjusted figures noted in the packet) and flagged 1,252 absences in the month reviewed — about 300 more than the previous month. The packet showed 951 absences filled and roughly 301 unfilled. Blue Ridge Tech was listed as having the highest fill rate (100%), while Warren County High School had the lowest.
Board members questioned a likely typographical error on the Skyline Middle School row; staff acknowledged the error and said they would provide corrected figures. Presenters explained that unexpected professional-development days at Skyline contributed to that school's low fill rate and that some entries reflect quarter-day absences placed by employees rather than full-day requests.
To address coverage gaps, staff described a mix of tactics: weekly incentives, campus recruiting with local colleges, increased recognition for regular substitutes, and targeted outreach timed at 72 hours before assignments when substitute availability commonly drops. Chanley said the district hired 22 substitutes since early August and that historical hiring patterns show a big early-year spike that tapers off; she added the district hopes to build a steadier month-to-month hiring cadence so more substitutes remain available beyond the seasonal surge.
Board members discussed shifting monthly presentations to a quarterly format for a larger-sample snapshot; staff said quarterly reporting would be acceptable and that Chanley will present going forward.
The board asked staff to follow up with corrected Skyline figures and with any additional detail about fill-rate calculations. The presentation closed with the district identifying further data clean-up and continued recruiting efforts as the next steps.
