Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Substitute Pay topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Littleton board raises substitute pay to $150/day and $180/day for long-term assignments
Summary
The governing board approved increasing the short-term substitute rate to $150 per day and the long-term rate to $180 per day, to address a reported ~35.3% substitute failure rate and about 8 unfilled classrooms daily; administration estimated the change will cost about $30,000 per semester, funded from vacancy savings.
The Littleton Elementary District governing board voted to raise substitute pay to $150 per day for short-term assignments and $180 per day for long-term assignments (10 or more consecutive days), approving a recommendation from district administration intended to improve substitute fill rates.
Mister French told the board the district needs an average of 12 substitutes per day and currently about eight of those positions go unfilled. He said data through July 29 showed 550 total substitute job requests for the school year so far, with 356 remaining unfilled, and described a substitute 'failure rate' of approximately 35.3 percent. To address that gap, administration proposed establishing an allocation cap by site and increasing substitute and classroom split allocations by $30,000 per semester to allow higher pay while preserving the classroom split program.
Mister French summarized pay comparisons with neighboring districts, noting Littleton's previous short-term rate of about $115 per day while other districts paid between $120 and $175. The administration recommended the $150 short-term rate and a $180 long-term rate (long-term defined as a substitute covering 10 days straight and doing lesson planning); staff said the change would cost roughly $30,000 per semester and could be covered through vacancy savings.
A board member moved to approve the changes to the substitute-pay schedule for FY25; the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor with no recorded opposition. President Reyes announced the motion passed.
Board members and staff discussed recruitment and market dynamics: some members suggested recruiting parents or stay-at-home caregivers if they completed required training and clearances; staff clarified certification rules. A staff member told the board that a standard substitute certificate requires a bachelor's degree while an emergency substitute certificate requires a high-school diploma and must be sponsored by the district, meaning emergency-certified substitutes cannot 'shop' across districts.
Mister French also noted permanent district substitutes receive $205 per day and said a beginning teacher's base figure mentioned in the meeting was $232.40, which helped inform comparisons to the new rates.
Next steps: staff said it will monitor program performance and return to the board if reevaluation is necessary.
