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TUSD superintendent speaks on plan for substitute teacher wage increase

TUSD speaks on teacher sub's wage increase
Posted at 12:34 PM, Dec 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-12 14:53:45-05

TUCSON, AZ — Tucson Unified School District's Superintendent, Gabriel Trujillo, was asked by KGUN 9 during a media briefing about the state of substitute teacher's wages.

"So tonight our governing board will be taking action for a very attractive package for substitute teachers in the Tucson Unified School District."

Under his new plan, he says short-term substitute teacher work between one to 15 days of service is paid at $100, he says that'll increase to $125 a day.

For long-term substitute work, after 15 days of service, being paid at $135 a day. Both increases going toward work being done at schools where it's hard to fill substitute teachers.

"Now to get someone to fill a long-term assignment 16 days, 30 days, 45 days, they will be able to make $135 a day so we feel this new pay scale is going to be able to incentivize and make attractive service at school that have traditionally been hard to serve in."

A recent TUSD report found on average, only 72% of short-term substitute positions are filled and 60-percent in middle schools.

Trujillo says the district will also ask the board for an extension of their contract with ESI, the third-party company TUSD uses to contract substitute teachers , which doesn't have the support of all subs.

"We have seven to 800 jobs across the district, the number of subs we've been able to bring in right now in-house doesn't match the need that we have on a daily basis. So we're going to be requesting that ESI come back in an emergency capacity there will a tier system where our in-house 500 sub employees will have first choice at all jobs, then if there are any jobs remaining we will be looking to the ESI service to back fill those positions."

Trujillo says any decision still needs to be decided by the board during the next meeting.

Below is a link to TUSD's job site:
TUSD Substitute Teacher Jobs